John William "Petey" Berry, III
Agency patch
Deputy First Class

John William "Petey" Berry, III

Illness
End of Watch September 19, 2021
Age 45
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
The Vigil Panel 177 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy First Class Petey Berry died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.

Deputy Berry had served with the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office for 11 years.

COVID-19 and Law Enforcement

Deputy First Class John William "Petey" Berry, III died on September 19, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 45.

He is one of 884 officers honored here.

Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.

Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife, daughter, son, and sister.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-SC-C602B675
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Deputy First Class Berry gave the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the Spartanburg community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy First Class Berry.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Spartanburg, SC
Platform Identity scso.spartanburg.sc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 19, 2021
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
Age 45
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness

Deputy First Class John William "Petey" Berry, III is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In SC, 10 of 438 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 2.3% of this state's fallen. That is 6.8 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.

At Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 5 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 20% of this agency's fallen.

Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office
1
of 5 officers
20% Illness
SC — Statewide
10
of 438 officers
2.3% Illness
Nationwide
2,974
of 32,508 officers
9.1% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John William "Petey" Berry, III's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How John William "Petey" Berry, III Compares

Age at End of Watch
45
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
11
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. John William "Petey" Berry, III is highlighted in Sep.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
185
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
181
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
291
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location