Saturday will mark one year since Knox County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Weist was killed while trying to assist with the apprehension of a fleeing suspect.
Weist was killed when off-duty he assisted in laying spike strips trying to thwart a suspect with a gun fleeing from Galesburg.
Wednesday night the Knox County Board passed a resolution to permanently mark April 29 as “Deputy Nicholas Weist Day” in Knox County.
Knox County Board Chair Jared Hawkinson read the proclamation which said in part…” Whereas there are times when law enforcement professionals are placed in dangerous situations and are forced to make life-or-death decisions and where as one of these moments on the morning of April 29th, 2022 when Deputy Nicholas Weist was called on to make the ultimate sacrifice by placing duty above self.”
Spoon River Valley F.O.P. Lodge 427 will hold a memorial event at The Vault at Reserve Artisan Ales Saturday starting at 3 p.m.
After the event, a special 4-pack of beer will be on sale with all proceeds benefitting the Deputy Nick Weist Scholarship fund.
There is currently a bill in the Illinois Senate that awaits a vote to name the portion of Illinois Route 150 from Galesburg’s Main Street to the intersection of U.S. Route 150 and Illinois Route 17 in Alpha as the “Deputy Sheriff Nick Weist Memorial Highway.”
In August Deputy Weist posthumously received both the FOP Valor and Life Saving Awards from the FOP Spoon River Valley Lodge #427, of which he was a member.
