| Deputy Sheriff Ernest Christian Potter III
Kershaw County Sheriff's Department
South Carolina
End of Watch: Thursday, February 21, 1974 Biographical Info
Age: 23
Tour of Duty: 4 months
Badge Number: 14 Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Thursday, February 21, 1974
Weapon Used: Handgun; .357 caliber
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life Deputy Potter was shot and killed when he and his partner stopped to investigate two men who were hitchhiking on I-20. As the deputies stepped out of their patrol car a third suspect surprised them from behind a guardrail and held them at gunpoint.
The three suspects walked the two deputies down an embankment where they opened fire on both deputies. Deputy Potter was struck in the head several times and killed. The other deputy was shot in the head and seriously wounded.
The three suspects had murdered Patrolman Richey Finch, of the Forest Acres Police Department, when Patrolman Finch stopped their vehicle several hours earlier. The shooter was sentenced to life plus 99 years. Related Line of Duty Deaths | 
