On the afternoon of August 30, 2021, what started as a simple traffic stop along U.S. 192 near Interstate 95 quickly turned into a chaotic scene. Brevard County sheriff’s deputies pulled over a sedan just west of the highway overpass. Inside the vehicle were three adults, a dog, and a two-month-old baby sitting in the back seat. Nobody watching the stop unfold would have expected it to turn violent within minutes.
Sitting in the back seat was 38-year-old Paris Wilder of Cocoa, Florida. Wilder was well known to local law enforcement, with a rap sheet that included 23 felony arrests and 17 misdemeanors ranging from armed robbery to drug trafficking. At the time of the stop, he was out on bond for felony drug charges and had two active warrants out for his arrest.
Deputy Brian Potters approached the passenger side of the sedan to talk to the occupants. The conversation started off calm, with Potters even making casual small talk about his own children when he noticed the baby in the back. But when Potters asked Wilder to step out of the vehicle, the situation shifted instantly.
Wilder pushed open the car door and stepped out holding a short-barreled rifle. Before either deputy could react, Wilder opened fire at point-blank range. One of his first shots hit Deputy Potters directly in the lower leg, sending the deputy down as gunfire erupted across the vacant lot.
More than 60 rounds tore through the air in less than a minute. As Potters and backup Deputy Tyler Thoman returned fire, Wilder used the parked cars for cover, ducking and weaving while continuing to shoot. The infant and the other two occupants remained trapped inside the car right in the middle of the crossfire.
Wilder then circled behind the patrol cars and caught Deputy Potters off guard while the wounded deputy was trying to reload and track the threat. Wilder ran up from behind and slammed the butt of his rifle into Potters’ head multiple times, inflicting severe cuts and tissue damage.
Seeing his partner under violent attack, Deputy Thoman moved in and fired a fatal burst, hitting Wilder multiple times. Wilder died right there on Columbia Lane. Deputy Potters was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment on his leg and head injuries, while the baby in the back seat remarkably escaped without a scratch.
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