‘It’s a blessing' | Powell community honors slain deputy with memorial bridge

POWELL, Tenn. (WVLT) - Tuesday marked an important milestone in the ongoing honoring and mourning of 29-year-old Knox County Sheriff’s Deputy Tucker Blakely.

Tuesday, Knox County officials unveiled a memorial bridge in Powell honoring the deputy.

Blakely died in 2023 after being shot while responding to a domestic call in West Knox County. In the months following his death, Blakely, an Army veteran, has been described as a hero and family man.

“Tucker was always smiling, cheerful and loved by all who knew him,” Sheriff Tom Spangler said Tuesday. “Nobody loved him as much as his family did.”

The sheriff wasn’t the only person in attendance; much of Blakely’s family was there as well.

“Nothing will ever replace my son Tucker,” his father, Tim Blakely, said. “But I tell you Knox County and the State of Tennessee, everything they’ve done in honor of my son and keeping his memory alive, it’s a blessing.”

Blakely’s mother — Mary Blakely — said she also appreciated the effort.

“We’d much rather have Tucker back, but we do appreciate everything that’s been done in his honor,” she said. “We’ll never quit talking about him or thinking about him, but people to come up to us and say ‘Hey, I knew Tucker, I worked with Tucker.’ It does make you feel good.”

The Knox County deputy had quite the impact, not just on the coworkers his mother mentioned, but on his brother as well.

“Even though he was my little brother, I looked up to him,” Ty Blakely said. “I know I have to find a new path moving forward and I know some of that, part of that path, will be to helping keep his memory alive as long as I’m here.”

Even with the honors shown to Blakely on Tuesday, it was still a bittersweet moment for his wife, Katarina.

“My son just learned to read, so when he reads out his daddy’s name, it’s sweet but it’s still sad,” she said.