The DEA Honor Roll
Official Line of Duty Deaths
Salvatore Potenza
Rank: Detective
Shield Number: 1203
Command: 071 Detective Squad
Date of Death: 10/15/1964
Cause of Death: Shot - Arrest
Detective Potenza and Detective Donegan received a complaint that a man had assaulted his wife and threatened to kill her. They were told that the man was an ex-convict and a former mental patient. The detectives went to an apartment at 1632 Hendrickson Street, Brooklyn, where the suspect was staying. When the detectives knocked on the door, the suspect opened fire through the door with a rifle. Both Detective Potenza and Detective Donegan were fatally wounded. The detectives were able to return fire before they fell, but did not strike the suspect.
The suspect then stole the detective’s service weapons and fled to his wife’s house. Once there, he told her what he had done and then shot and killed himself with one of the stolen guns. Both Detectives were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.