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Chief Michael “Mike” Kittrell Knotts, Sr. (1880–1925) was a highly respected law enforcement officer whose death remains the most significant event in the history of the Wagener Police Department (WPD). Born on February 27, 1880, in South Carolina, he served as a Private in the Spanish-American War in 1898. He had five children with his first wife, Celeste Irene Amaker, and later married Lula Poole in 1922. By 1920, Knotts was already serving as a policeman for the Town of Wagener, and in January 1925 he was appointed Chief of Police, earning praise from local newspapers for his ability to work effectively with the public. His end of watch came on September 20, 1925, when he was killed in the line of duty on a Sunday afternoon. Around 4:00 p.m., Chief Knotts approached James Elliott “Rabbit” Gantt near the train depot after receiving reports of public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. Gantt, who had reportedly threatened the Chief before, drew a .32 caliber revolver and shot Knotts in the chest. A witness recorded the Chief’s final words: “Boys get the doctor, I am shot through the heart.” Gantt surrendered shortly after and was later convicted of manslaughter, receiving a sentence of seven to fourteen years. Chief Knotts’s legacy endures through multiple memorials: he was posthumously inducted into the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame on July 7, 1993, the Town of Wagener has established a two-part memorial in his honor, and he remains the only officer from the Wagener Police Department listed on the Officer Down Memorial Page.

 

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