Duty Death: Dylan Harrison - [Alamo]
End of Service: 09/10/2021
By Shaddi Abusaid
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA — A massive manhunt is underway after a young officer was shot and killed early Saturday outside his Georgia police station, officials said.
Dylan Harrison, 26, was working his first shift as a part-time officer with the Alamo Police Department when he was gunned down outside the station about 1 a.m., GBI spokeswoman Natalie Ammons said at a Saturday afternoon news conference.
Harrison, who lived in Laurens County, is survived by his wife and their 6-month-old child, officials said.
A manhunt is underway for 43-year-old Damien Anthony Ferguson, who goes by “Luke,” according to the GBI. A “Blue Alert” was issued for the Alamo man and a $17,500 reward is being offered for information leading to his capture. Such alerts are issued when a suspect accused of killing or seriously injuring a law enforcement officer remains at large.
“Officer Harrison was a part-time Alamo police officer working his first shift with the department last night,” Ammons said, adding that he was also a full-time Oconee Drug Task Force agent in nearby Dodge County.
Officials have not released any details about what led to the deadly shooting.
Harrison had been in law enforcement since 2018. His body is being taken to the GBI Crime Lab near Decatur for an autopsy.
Tributes for the slain police officer poured in on Saturday morning as the news of Harrison’s death spread.
“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,” Telfair County Sheriff Sim Davidson wrote in a Facebook post. “We are sincerely grateful for his service.”
Harrison was the first Alamo officer killed in the line of duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page that tracks law enforcement deaths. In January, Alamo police Officer Arturo Villegas died from COVID-19 complications.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=4337914016243952&id=766283270073729
At least five Georgia officers have been killed in the line of duty this year, but nearly two dozen more have died from COVID, according to the page. Seven Georgia officers were killed in the line of duty in 2020.
In a tweet, the Georgia Department of Public Safety said it was “deeply saddened” by the news of the officer’s death.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Alamo Police Department’s officer killed in the line of duty early this morning,” the state agency said. “We send our thoughts and prayers to the officer’s family.”
Gov. Brian Kemp also shared his condolences following the early morning shooting, writing “our thoughts and prayers are with this officer’s family, friends and colleagues.”
Anyone with information about the shooting or Ferguson’s whereabouts is asked to call the GBI at 1-800-597-8477 or submit tips to the agency’s website.
https://www.facebook.com/Georgia.Bureau.of.Investigation/posts/235695431920891
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