Family members of a man allegedly shot to death by an off-duty Atlanta police officer during a bar fight last month questioned the Atlanta City Council on Monday about the speed of the investigation and asked why the officer continues to work for the department.
The 30-year-old officer, Melvin Potter, was still at the scene the morning of Aug. 5 when South Fulton police arrived at the bar on Old National Highway to investigate the death of Devon Anderson, the GBI said. After speaking with authorities, Potter was arrested on a misdemeanor obstruction charge after refusing to take a blood-alcohol test, officials said. He has not been charged in Anderson’s shooting.
At a city council meeting this week, Anderson’s family pressed officials about the investigation.
Potter remains employed by Atlanta police but was removed from active duty, department officials said. His state-level certification as a law enforcement officer was on probation at the time of the shooting, according to records kept by Georgia’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.
Family members were accompanied by activist and city council candidate Devin Barrington-Ward, who demanded Porter’s immediate firing and questioned why the officer had been allowed to remain on the force after a prior, unrelated arrest.
“If Melvin (Potter) were not a police officer and engaged in this type of behavior, would he still be walking around free?” Barrington-Ward asked in a statement.
According to the GBI, Potter got into a fight with Anderson that escalated to the point that the off-duty officer shot and killed the 38-year-old. The fight, which happened at about 1 a.m., was sparked by an earlier argument, the GBI said.
The victim’s mother, Valerie Anderson, described her son as “an innocent” who was trying to prevent an altercation with Potter. She said Potter shot her son three times and an ambulance took 37 minutes to respond to the scene.
Credit: Georgia Peace Office Standards and Training Council
Credit: Georgia Peace Office Standards and Training Council
“No one has reached out to me about my son,” Valerie Anderson said as she choked back tears.
After just a few minutes, the grieving mother was overcome with emotion and left the city council chambers.
City councilmembers told Devon Anderson’s supporters that they had no control over the investigation, which is being conducted at the state level. Councilwoman Andrea Boone also pointed out that the shooting took place in South Fulton, a separate jurisdiction, and that Potter was off duty at the time.
In most cases of a shooting involving a law enforcement officer, local agencies will ask the GBI to conduct an independent investigation. Those probes typically last two or three months, though sometimes longer, after which the GBI makes a recommendation to local authorities about whether the case warrants criminal charges.
Barrington-Ward, who is running for At-Large Post 3 in this year’s general election, released a statement Thursday in which he asked other victims of Potter’s alleged misconduct to come forward.
“This situation is starting to look like a cover-up,” Barrington-Ward said. “Why hasn’t (Potter) been charged with homicide considering it appears he was drinking off duty and killed a man?”
The GBI has been investigating the incident for about a month and a half but has not shared any updates. Atlanta police have not commented, which is standard procedure for local departments in cases where the state agency is involved.
Credit: M.D. Walker Funeral Home
Credit: M.D. Walker Funeral Home
Potter’s POST certification had been placed on administrative probation after his 2021 arrest in Coweta County on charges of driving under the influence. The 36-month probation period started in November of that year and was still active when the South Fulton shooting took place in August.
Potter was booked into the Fulton County Jail after the shooting and released the same day on $1,000 bond, online records show.
Anderson’s family members said they have grown frustrated by what they see as a lack of transparency.
“I’m not getting any answers, what happened to my son,” Valerie Anderson told Channel 2 Action News. “It’s been hard because I’m going through emotions of losing my son and part of me still don’t believe I lost my son.”
About the Author
