Nonprofit identifies Callaway County deputies shot during traffic stop on I-70 - ABC17NEWS

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A nonprofit foundation has set up donation funds for the two Callaway County deputies shot while conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 70 on Monday morning.

In a post on Facebook, the Chief Mason Griffith Foundation said the nonprofit is supporting Cpl. Justin Bax and Deputy Gardner Pottorff after they were shot during a traffic stop on Monday.

The foundation said in the post that Pottorff was the deputy who conducted the traffic stop when he was shot four times in the stomach by the suspect.

The Callaway County Sheriff's Office said Monday afternoon that one deputy was out of surgery while the second was scheduled.

"Deputy Pottorff then began performing life-saving measures for another critically injured deputy," the Chief Mason Griffith Foundation said on Facebook.

Potorff's estimated recovery time is 6 to 8 months, according to the foundation. No specific information was provided about the injuries or recovery time for Bax.

The Sheriff's Office requested that the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control investigate the shooting.

According to a Facebook post from earlier this year, Bax was promoted to corporal on March 26 and has been with the department since April 2020.

ABC 17 News reported in December that Potorff was hired by Callaway County as a road deputy.

Troopers identified the shooter as Jonathan Beason, 37, of Medina, Texas.

A fund is set up for both Potorff and Bax.

The Callaway County Sheriff's Office did not respond to a request for information Tuesday morning.

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