‘He brought them together.’ Many pay their respects to slain ISP trooper in Waterloo
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An Illinois state trooper killed in East St. Louis
Read the BND’s previous coverage of the killing of Nicholas Hopkins while Illinois State Police served a no-knock warrant in East St. Louis in August 2019.
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Before he was Illinois State Police trooper No. 6141, Nicholas Hopkins wore No. 84 on the football field, playing for the Waterloo Bulldogs.
Hopkins’ legacy as an athletic young man with a wide smile was on display Saturday, as people traveled to his old high school in his hometown to pay their respects after he was killed in the line of duty.
His public visitation began at 3 p.m. Saturday in Waterloo High School’s gym, where his old jersey was hanging along with his uniform. Hundreds of people waited in a line that wrapped around the school. Some carried umbrellas to block the afternoon sun. Temperatures reached above 80 degrees.
“This is awesome that people care enough,” said ISP Sgt. Christopher “Joey” Watson of the turnout.
O’Fallon resident Al Colvin, 74, came to the visitation with the Illinois and Missouri Patriot Guard Riders. He said most of their members have military backgrounds and attend services for fallen first-responders and military personnel to stand in a flag line.
Colvin called the turnout for Hopkins “mind-boggling.”
“At a normal Patriot Guard mission, you don’t see anywhere near this amount of people,” he said. “This is fantastic. Some people were here at 1:30 p.m. for a 3 p.m. visitation, which is pretty amazing, I think.”
The people in line were mostly quiet as they waited to enter the gym where flowers, gifts paying tribute to the trooper and family photos were laid out. Colvin said the mood inside was somber.
Some people waited in line for more than an hour, according to those leaving the service. Eventually, the line was moved inside the school so they could wait in air conditioning.
Law enforcement officers from across Illinois and Missouri were present. One police officer had traveled from as far as Portland, Oregon, for the service, according to a Patriot Guard member.
Outside the visitation, a Waterloo Fire Department truck raised a large flag over the school, which was illuminated after sunset with red, white and blue lights. A State Police cruiser parked in front of the school’s entrance was draped with black and blue ribbons.
The 33-year-old father of three died Aug. 23, hours after he was shot in an exchange of gunfire while he and other State Police SWAT team members tried to serve a “high risk” no-knock search warrant in East St. Louis, according to Illinois State Police Acting Director Brendan Kelly.
More details about that search warrant won’t be released until the case goes to court, Kelly said during a news conference after Hopkins died at Saint Louis University Hospital. Christopher R. Grant, 45, of East St. Louis has been charged with first-degree murder in Hopkins’ death.
Hopkins was a 10-year veteran of the Illinois State Police. Many stories of his kindness in service have emerged since his death.
Military, law enforcement present widow with keepsakes
At 6 p.m., military and law enforcement officers entered the visitation as a group to make their way through a uniform line around the gym, ending at Hopkins’ casket.
Some stopped to hug his wife, Whitney, who was seated next to the casket. One man simply reached out and held her hand until he passed. Several men and women stopped to salute.
Whitney was visibly emotional when officers and servicemen and women near the end of the line began handing her flags and other keepsakes.
The formal “walkthrough” was broadcast live by Illinois State Police. Hundreds watched on social media.
Squad car becomes memorial for residents to visit
Waterloo resident Aubrey Davis, 21, said she drives by Hopkins’ old squad car often. It’s parked at City Hall and has become a memorial, where residents have left notes, candles, flowers and other small gifts since his death.
One note reads, “We vow to honor your courageous light by continuing your service to others. The light of your example will lead us.”
Davis said she’s watched it grow bigger over time until it was covered in bouquets. On Saturday, she brought her camera to take photos of the memorial to document the community’s support for the Hopkins’ family, a bright spot in the tragedy.
“I think you don’t really see a lot of things like this in a small town,” she said. “So when it happens like this, it hits you and everyone just kind of comes together.”
Volunteers put out flags along funeral procession route
Hours before the visitation service began Saturday, volunteers gathered in Waterloo to show support for Hopkins by placing large American flags in the ground along his funeral procession route. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Sunday, at Waterloo High School, and the procession to the cemetery will follow at about noon.
Waterloo Mayor Tom Smith said Saturday morning he was proud to see so many volunteers plant flags to honor the fallen trooper. As a former state trooper himself and the son of a trooper, he said it was a special moment to see the parking lot just across from Waterloo City Cemetery so full Saturday morning.
“It makes me very proud of Waterloo and Monroe County,” he said. “It says a lot for our community to stand behind law enforcement.”
Almost 100 volunteers gathered at the parking lot, and trucks formed a long stretching line as the flags were distributed.
Larry “The Flag Man” Eckhardt, who supplied the flags free of charge, does this often. He has provided flags for funerals to honor fallen law enforcement and military heroes for 14 years. He said days like this are final “gifts” from fallen officers.
“We always say this is a police officer’s last gift to a community because I guarantee these people don’t know each other,” he said. “But he brought them together.”
Across town, businesses’ marquees mentioned the trooper. Flowers covered Hopkins’ old squad car, parked at City Hall as a memorial. And local hotels were booked solid as many from the law enforcement community and state officials are expected to travel to this small town for the weekend services.
Hopkins remembered for his kindness
Friends, including the pastor of Hopkins’ church, have said they remember him for his willingness to help others, often with his carpentry skills.
Hopkins’ wife, Whitney, shared the words she says he lived by in a recorded message to the parish on Sunday after his death: “You can never do kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it can be too late.”
Hopkins is survived by his wife, 4-year-old twins and an infant daughter, five siblings and his parents.
Kelly, the State Police director, said Hopkins continued helping people, even in death.
“He will donate his organs and his very body to help others,” Kelly said during the press conference following the trooper’s death. “He would want us all to know that he was healthy as a horse, that a healthy body like his can help save or improve the lives of as many as 40 people through organ donation.”
More than 1,000 people had attended a candlelight vigil on Thursday night, including members of Hopkins’ family.
More weekend memorial services
Funeral services, which are open to the public, will take place at 10 a.m. Sunday, also at Waterloo High School. Doors open to the public at 8 a.m.
The funeral procession is expected to leave the school at 12 p.m., traveling along Illinois 3 through Waterloo and Columbia and ending at Waterloo City Cemetery, where Hopkins will be buried.
Illinois State Police is encouraging the public to line the procession route, like they had when his body was brought back to Waterloo from St. Louis Aug. 26.
This is a breaking story. Stay connected to bnd.com for developments.
This story was originally published August 31, 2019 at 12:31 PM.
