Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Robert Potter suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after responding to a major accident involving two tractor trailers on I-10, near Vado.
He was one of the first officers on scene and provided life-saving assistance to the victims of the crash. A short while later, Officer Potter was in a staging area at a nearby truck stop when he suddenly collapsed. He was transported to Memorial Medical Hospital, in Las Cruces, where he passed away the following day.
Officer Potter was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the New Mexico Motor Transportation Police for seven years.
Officer Potter was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the New Mexico Motor Transportation Police for seven years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NM-C5A04ADF- 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
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Officer Potter gave the New Mexico Motor Transportation Police 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the Santa Fe community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Robert Alan Potter served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Officer Robert Alan Potter is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NM, 6 of 193 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 3.1% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points below the national rate of 4%.
At New Mexico Motor Transportation Police, 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert Alan Potter's cause is highlighted.
How Robert Alan Potter Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Robert Alan Potter is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from New Mexico Motor Transportation Police are honored on badge.nw.
