For nearly two years, friends and family members of Devon Anderson, a 38-year-old man killed by an off-duty Atlanta Police officer, Melvin Potter, have been pressuring the Atlanta City Council to fire him.
Supporters including Valerie Lans-Anderson, the victim’s mother, spoke passionately at an Atlanta City Council public safety meeting on June 22. They called into question Potter’s ability to perform as a police officer, given his record: a DUI conviction in 2022 and a domestic violence investigation in 2017.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Potter was off-duty at a bar in College Park on Aug. 5, 2024. At about 1 a.m., Potter was escorting someone to their car when an argument occurred between him and a group of people. Later, the incident escalated, and Potter shot and killed Anderson, the GBI report states.
The City of South Fulton Police Department arrested and charged Potter with obstruction. No criminal charges were filed based on that investigation.
An administrative internal investigation has begun at APD, which could take up to 180 days according to Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Jason Smith. The City of Atlanta did not investigate the shooting because it happened in South Fulton, Smith said.
Myola Smith, deputy director of the Atlanta Citizen Review Board, spoke at the meeting but did not disclose the results of the board’s investigation. A request for that information was not immediately available to Rough Draft.
City Attorney Amber Robinson warned that the matter is pending litigation against the City of Atlanta, but that did not stop council members from asking questions.
“To me, this looks like we have officers on duty who are extremely dangerous, who are a threat to the public and public safety, and I’m wondering why we are keeping these people on staff when they have very clear records of being a danger,” Council member Kelsea Bond said.
Lans-Anderson vowed to council members that she will not stop talking about her son. “The whole of Georgia is going to know who Melvin Potter is, with or without your help,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
