Rockton Police Department, Illinois
End of Watch: Thursday, October 27, 1977
Age: 52
Tour of Duty: 32 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Date of Incident: October 27, 1977
Weapon Used: Person
Suspect Info: Escaped from mental hospital
Chief of Police Arthur Weston suffered a fatal heart attack following a struggle with a suspect at approximately 10:00 am.
Chief Weston had responded to a burglary-in-progress call and located the suspect in an upstairs bedroom. After an intense struggle Chief Weston was able to place the suspect into custody. As he was transporting the man to jail he began to have chest pains and called for backup. He was taken to a local hospital where he died approximately one hour later.
The suspect was found unfit to stand trial and later escaped from a mental hospital.
Chief of Police Weston had served with the Rockton Police Department for six years and had been in law enforcement for 32 years. He was survived by his wife, son and four daughters.