Atlanta police have quietly closed the book on a downtown shooting that left a Fulton County sheriff's deputy wounded, deciding not to file any criminal charges after reviewing surveillance video that raised serious questions about what happened on the street that day.
Investigators watched footage that appears to show a plainclothes deputy jumping out of an unmarked car and pulling a gun before someone in another vehicle opened fire. That person was held for more than four hours of questioning, then released. The decision to shut down the case has reignited debate over how undercover operations are run and how much of the evidence the public gets to see.
According to records and surveillance video reviewed by Atlanta News First, the wounded deputy was Evens Lafond. He was working in jeans and a T-shirt, riding in an undercover Honda equipped with concealed lights, when he chased a person near Forsyth Street and Trinity Avenue in downtown Atlanta. APD investigators told the station the video shows Lafond did not identify himself as law enforcement before shots were fired. Only after he was hit did he reportedly yell, "I'm the police!"
The shooting happened on April 24, 2025. Lafond was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to his lower leg and was listed in stable condition in early reports. At the scene, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat promised to hold the shooter accountable, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
What the video shows
Surveillance obtained by reporters shows the undercover Honda jumping a curb on Forsyth Street with no lights or sirens activated. Lafond steps out in casual clothes and draws his gun while the person he was chasing runs out of the camera's view.
Investigators say a passenger in another vehicle, identified in records as Ivan Watson, then fired a total of 12 shots in Lafond's direction. Only one round struck the deputy in his lower left leg. Police reported finding a cluster of .40-caliber shell casings where Watson said he fired and a single 9-millimeter casing near Lafond's vehicle.
Atlanta police closed the case file in May 2025. According to documents reviewed by Atlanta News First, investigators concluded Watson "did not immediately recognize Deputy Lafond as an officer." That conclusion effectively ended any prospect of charges.
Records and transparency questions
Atlanta News First reports that it asked APD for the original surveillance video and additional records in the case. On July 2, 2026, the department's open-records office denied that request, citing exemptions under Georgia's open-records law.
APD had previously released body-worn camera footage, the incident report and interrogation recordings in April. The station says the critical surveillance clip itself is still being withheld.
The Georgia Open Records Act allows law enforcement agencies to withhold certain materials, including information that could "compromise security against sabotage or criminal or terrorist acts" or reveal a "confidential surveillance." The statute is the basis for the city's refusal to turn over the original video.
Officials' response and next steps
Records show Sheriff Labat later presented Lafond with a commendation for bravery while he was recovering, and Lafond was subsequently promoted to sergeant, reflecting the sheriff's public support for his deputy.
Lafond's attorney, Jim Dahlquist, told reporters that sheriff's office policy requires any media requests to go through its public affairs officer, and that Lafond could not sit for a personal interview.
APD has not indicated any plan to reopen the investigation. With the original surveillance video still sealed, the central dispute remains unresolved: whether Deputy Lafond clearly identified himself as an officer before he fired his weapon.
