Merrell Potter’s passion, for most of his life, has been law enforcement. For the last 16 years, Potter has served as chief of the Phil Campbell Police Department, and he has spent a majority of his life serving his community as an officer of the law in some capacity.
“Since (Potter) became chief, he’s brought continuity to the police department and we owe him a lot,” said Phil Campbell mayor Steve Bell. “We really depend on him for a lot, and anything we ask him to do he’s always there for us.”
However, as the saying goes, all great things must eventually come to an end. This summer, after 36 years, Potter is calling it a career and hanging up his badge. On June 1, Potter will officially retire as police chief of the Phil Campbell Police Department.
“I’ll be 65 in May, and to me, that’s the magic number,” Potter said. “It’s just time for a younger person to step up to the plate and take on the responsibility.”
Aside from his age, Potter says stress and change also played a role in his decision to retire.
“Being the chief of police, that’s the highest you can go, and the level of responsibility, even a small department, is astronomical,” he said. “If I’m not here, I’m worried about what’s going on and I can’t take off and have it off my mind because it’s ever present. So that’s one of the reasons I’ve thought about retiring because of the stress levels.”
Over three and a half decades of commitment to any profession is a remarkable feat. Given all that is required of a police officer or police chief, it makes Potter’s long tenure even more noteworthy. But Potter says law enforcement is the one thing he has always had a passion for.
“When I was a small child I used to watch television and the good guys in the westerns—Roy Rogers and those guys—I was always fascinated by them,” he said. “I always took the law’s side. I always wanted to be the lawman, even when we’d go out and play and things, so it was kind of always in my blood from that.”
As Potter grew up, he left the fictional lawman behind and put forth the effort to make his dream a reality. He started acquiring experience as early as he could, receiving his first taste of the job while still a teenager.
“When I was in high school I started out here on the reserve program, or the auxiliary program as they called it back then,” he said. “Of course, you received no money and you couldn’t make any arrests, but you were actively going out on calls and directing traffic at ball games and stuff like that.”
From that point forward, Potter knew that law enforcement was the path he was destined to follow. He continued to work hard and gain more experience, making different stops along the way.
After his time as an auxiliary at the PCPD, Potter became a campus policeman at Northwest Alabama State Junior College (now Northwest-Shoals Community College) for two years before becoming chief of the sheriff’s reserve under former Franklin County Sheriff Glen Demastus for two years.
Eventually, Potter moved on, taking a job as a patrol officer in the Russellville Police Department.
“He is a good guy and a good chief,” said investigator Terry Zills of the Franklin County District Attorney’s office, who worked with Potter when he was an officer with the RPD. “He’s very professional, has a great name and reputation, and he’s maintained a good working relationship with other departments through the years.”
After about a year with Russellville, Potter was promoted to sergeant. He spent the next 15 years working different shifts. One day, after all those years, Potter decided he needed a break from the job so he left the department.
“After 16 years, I just got kind of burned out, so I got out for a while,” he said.
After his departure from the RPD, Potter spent the next five to six years pursuing other interests, including owning his own restaurant. He bought the B&J Café from his in-laws and began operating it with his wife.
“That was the hardest work I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. “But it was enjoyable. I like to meet people and talk to people, so that was something I got to do a lot running the restaurant.”
During that period, Potter also devoted more time to his church, as well.
“In 1981, just after I got promoted to sergeant at Russellville, I entered into the ministry,” Potter said. “I’m a Baptist minister and I’ve been doing that ever since then. As a matter fact, I’m still with the same church I started with 35 years ago, which is New Bethlehem Baptist.”
Although Potter enjoyed his hiatus from policing, it was not long before he would jump back in. His next opportunity in law enforcement would bring him full circle, from an unpaid volunteer to the man in the charge.
“I guess I just wasn’t done with law enforcement,” Potter said. “I saw that Phil Campbell police chief job was open and I wanted it, so I applied for it and got it.”
The rest is history. For the last 16 and a half years, Potter has been a staple of the Phil Campbell community.
“He’s a familiar face, not just in Phil Campbell but in the surrounding communities and to other law enforcement,” Bell said. “He’ll really be missed and he’ll be very hard to replace.”
Potter is thankful that, during his time as a police officer and as chief at Phil Campbell, he has a number of good memories he can reminisce about. He says one of the biggest joys of his career has been the ability to work with his brother, Terrell.
“It’s really been enjoyable working with my brother,” he said. “It’s been a good experience and we’ve had a lot of fun.”
Merrell and Terrell are twins, which Potter says opens the door for a lot of funny moments of mistaken identity.
“I remember when I was at Russellville, Terrell was working for the DA’s office. I wore a uniform and he wore plain clothes, and people would always get us confused,” he said. “We had a lot of fun with it when people would ask one of us how we changed clothes so quick. But even after he retired from the DA’s office, he came to work for me—and he’s been here about 14 years now—people still get us mixed up. We have a good time with that.”
But for the good times Potter has had, he has also had his share of bad moments. No point in his career as sheriff was ever lower than April 27, 2011.
“The major low of my life in law enforcement was when the tornado came through,” he said. “That took more out of me than anything I’ve ever had to deal with. I had to deal with the devastation on a consistent basis everyday, and it was months and months before you really saw any kind of improvement.”
Loss of life is something that police officers have to confront themselves and help suffering families confront in unfortunate situations. However, being in a small community, Potter says the disaster on April 27 was a lot to bear emotionally.
“There were 27 people killed that day and I knew all of them, except one,” he said. “Seeing those families, being reminded constantly of their loss and the loss of some in my own family, that was the lowest point of my life.”
The tragedy, however, reminded Potter of why he decided to become a law enforcement officer to begin with.
“One of the main reasons I got into this, and it sounds corny in a way, but I enjoy helping people,” he said. “This is a job where you have a tremendous opportunity to help people. You see people when they’re at their lowest, and if you can help them up to any degree then you’ve accomplished something. To know that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life, that’s a greater reward than the paycheck I get every week.”
Going into retirement, law enforcement will no longer be a part of Potter’s life. He will continue to work in the ministry, pastoring at his church and putting even more time and effort into his faith. But even without his badge, Potter says helping his community will still be a high priority.
“One thing I’ll take with me and remember is that there’s always someone out there that has a problem,” he said. “Even if I’m not in law enforcement, they’re still going to have a problem and they’re still going to be in need, and hopefully when I retire I’ll still be able to reach those people and be of assistance to them.”
For many entering the twilight of their careers, legacy is one thing that enters the mind. Potter says his hope is that he is simply remembered as one that did his best to improve the community for future generations.
“I’ve had people years down the road come up and thank me for making a difference in their life, and that makes a difference it my life. That’s what it’s all about to me,” he said. “I hope, in the end, I’ve made Phil Campbell a better place and made it a safer place for our children growing up.”
