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Families and advocates call for accountability after off‑duty shootings; council hears pleas but takes no immediate personnel action
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Summary
Multiple public commenters urged the council to press for firings and prosecutions related to off‑duty police conduct, including the family of a man killed last year; speakers said officers accused of violence remain on the force and called for transparency and justice.
Several members of the public used the council’s public‑comment period on Aug. 5 to press the city and law‑enforcement leaders for accountability over off‑duty and on‑duty police actions, including the family of a man fatally shot in 2024.
Valerie Anderson, whose son Devon Anderson Jr. was shot and killed, told the council she had seen no accountability in the year since his death. “Melvin Potter you murdered a wrong mother's son, and I'm going to hold you accountable until I get justice,” Anderson said. She asked why Officer Melvin Potter remained employed by the Atlanta Police Department and said she planned to pursue every lawful avenue to hold him responsible.
Other public speakers asked the council to review personnel actions and disciplinary policies after recent high‑profile incidents involving off‑duty officers. Several advocates said the department’s disciplinary decisions appeared inconsistent: they noted recent terminations of APD recruits for off‑duty misconduct while other officers accused of serious misconduct remained on the payroll.
Speakers referenced earlier incidents, including the 2020 killing of Rayshard Brooks and subsequent disciplinary actions for involved officers, and asked why comparable standards were not being enforced in other cases. Civil‑rights advocates in the audience urged the council to demand transparency in internal‑affairs processes and to ensure timely public release of investigative status updates.
Council members acknowledged the public comments and indicated the council’s limited direct authority over APD operational decisions but said they would press for information and transparency. The meeting record shows no formal action taken against personnel during the Aug. 5 session; members encouraged the public to raise the issues again with the mayor’s office, the police chief and the department’s internal‑affairs unit.
Several speakers also raised broader legal concerns about charging procedures and constitutional protections; one attorney provided a notice addressing grand‑jury requirements and the Fifth Amendment in the context of Georgia’s charging practices. That submission was presented as a public legal notice rather than a motion or council action.
