Part of the Belt Highway is all but a technicality away from becoming a memorial to a fallen deputy whose death sparked controversy in Buchanan County this summer.

The Missouri House of Representatives voted 145-0 to rename the Belt/U.S. Highway 169, from Gene Field Road to Missouri Highway 6/Frederick Boulevard, as Deputy Charles M. Cook Memorial Highway.

Wednesday night’s vote came on the eve of the National Day of Fallen Law Officers. Mr. Cook died from injuries he suffered in an on-duty wreck on June 23 during a pursuit of a reported erratically driven motorcycle.

The St. Joseph Fraternal Order of Police will honor Mr. Cook and other Northwest Missouri officers who have died in the line of duty at 7 tonight in Civic Center Park during a candlelight memorial service.

The Missouri Department of Transportation will erect and maintain memorial signs along the Belt, but the FOP will pay for them, under the bill, which would go into effect Aug. 28.

“I think that’s a fitting honor for someone who served his community and died doing it,” Sheriff Mike Strong told the News-Press.

Mr. Strong revised department pursuit policy after the death. St. Joseph Police Department records revealed that Mr. Cook’s brother-in-law — Aaron Smullin, 18, of St. Joseph — was a passenger participating in a citizen ride-along when the early morning wreck occurred.

Mr. Cook, who was driving a department Dodge Durango, had swerved to avoid traffic and crashed into a metal traffic control box atop a concrete base near the intersection of the Belt and Sherman Avenue. Mr. Cook wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

Effective Sept. 1, deputies no longer can engage in pursuits during citizen ride-alongs except in extreme circumstances. Also, all citizen ride-alongs now require the sheriff’s approval.

Senators questioned whether the state should continue its involvement in highway namings in February when they passed a bill authorizing the highway designation for Mr. Cook and several other officers. The measure received no opposition in the House.

Since the House added designations, the bill needs to return to the Senate for a successful final reading before it can become law. Senate Majority Floor Leader Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, who sponsored the initial legislation, said he’d call it up Friday, the last day of the session. Little to no debate is expected.