A Georgia police officer was recently shot to death on his first shift on the job in an act of retaliation for an arrest.
26-year-old Officer Dylan Harrison, who had worked in law enforcement since 2018, was on his first shift after becoming a certified police officer when he was killed in the line of duty.
The Alamo police rookie had previously worked as a firefighter and paramedic, as well as for several Georgia law enforcement agencies as a Drug Task Force member.
According to CBS News, the shooting was an act of retaliation after Harrison arrested a man for a traffic violation. When the driver refused to comply, the situation escalated, and Harrison used his taser to subdue the man and take him into custody. The man was not identified.
“It is believed that the ambush-style attack on Officer Harrison was retaliation for the incident and arrest of the man,” the bureau stated.
GBI spokeperson, Natalie Ammons said in a news conference: “Officer Harrison was a part-time Alamo police officer working his first shift with the department last night.” She added that Harrison worked full-time as an Oconee Drug Task Force in nearby Dodge County.
The shooter, identified as 43-year-old Damien Ferguson, was arrested and charged with murder for the shooting. A SWAT Team and a division of the U.S. Marshals Service carried out the arrest following a large manhunt.
Alamo Police Chief Karen Zanders was distraught.
“I have never experienced a grief that I have felt since Officer Dylan Harrison’s life was taken in our small, quiet town. His life was taken from him for simply doing his job,” she added.
Telfair County Sheriff Sim Davidson also expressed his condolences. “Our sincerest thoughts, prayers, and condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of Officer Dylan Harrison who was killed in the line of duty last night in Alamo,” Davidson wrote on Facebook. “We are sincerely grateful for his service.”
Harrison is survived by his wife and 6-month-old son. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, Harrison is the first Alamo police officer to be killed in the line of duty.
