MESA COUNTY, Colo. — A Mesa County Sheriff Sergeant died Friday morning after a battle with COVID-19, according to the department.
Wayne Weyler was 64 years old.
The department said Weyler was a law enforcement officer for 41 years. He started with the Adams County Sheriff's Office before joining the Mesa County Sheriff's Office in 1996.
> Video above: Colorado COVID-19 update from Thursday, Dec. 9
“Wayne gave so much of himself to serve his fellow man," said Sheriff Todd Rowell in a post from the department. "He was a leader, mentor, and genuinely nice human being. Words can’t express how much he will be missed.”
Weyler led the sheriff's office Peer Support program and Complex Crimes Unit, the department said. He also helped pioneer the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Crime Reduction Unit.
Weyler is the second member of Colorado law enforcement to die from COVID-19 this week.
A detective with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office died early Thursday morning after contracting COVID-19, according to a post from the sheriff's office.
Four other law enforcement officers in Colorado have died from COVID-19 in 2021, according to the Officer Down Memorial page. They include two Denver Sheriff's Department deputies, a Windsor Police officer and a deputy with the Elbert County Sheriff's Office.
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