by Dennis Dalman
St. Joseph Police Officer Vic Weiss was warmly praised and thanked by his comrades and others as he was presented with the “Medal of Valor” recently at a city council meeting.
On March 8, Weiss was off-duty from his police-officer job while riding his bicycle on the Lake Wobegon Trail. Then, he was approached by a man walking on the trail who told him about another man on the trail who had just tried to rob him and then assaulted him.
Officer Weiss immediately made phone contact with the police dispatcher about the incident, and then he stayed with the victim on the trail.
Meanwhile, Weiss suggested to the victim they should leave the trail, but the victim said he was just too exhausted to run for cover. So Weiss decided to stay right there on the spot with the victim. A bit later, the suspect approached Weiss and tried to rob him of his bicycle. Then, the suspect hit Weiss multiple times until Weiss responded with equal force. Despite a fractured hand and foot, Weiss knocked the suspect into the ditch by the trail and subdued him until law enforcement arrived.
The Medal of Valor citation honored Weiss for his “selflessness and dedication to serve, even while off-duty, protecting the victim from further harm until the suspect was taken into custody.”
The names of the victim and suspect were not divulged during the award ceremony.
St. Joseph police officer Vic Weiss is congratulated by St. Joseph Police Chief Dwight Pfannenstein after being honored with a Medal of Valor. Looking on is St. Joseph Mayor Adam Scepaniak.