South Carolina Highway Patrol, South Carolina
End of Watch: Sunday, January 4, 1942
Age: 26
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: January 4, 1942
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Pardoned in 1947
Patrolman Norris Nettles was on duty in Spartanburg County when he was attacked by four assailants during a traffic stop.
Patrolman Nettles was shot with his own weapon and was taken to a local hospital by two citizens, but died a short time later. One of the assailants was given a life sentence for the murder of Patrolman Nettles. On January 21, 1947, in his final official act of office, Governor Ransome J. Williams pardoned the suspect along with two other murderers who had been assigned to him as his personal servants by the South Carolina Penitentiary.
Patrolman Nettles was survived by his wife and father. His father, Policeman Marion Clifton Nettles, an officer with the Walterboro, South Carolina, Police Department, died in the line of duty on December 23, 1949.