Photo: Telfair County Sheriff’s Sim Davidson
A police officer in the small town of Alamo, Ga., was gunned down during his first shift with the department — and authorities believe the suspect shot him in retaliation for arresting one of his associates earlier in the day.
Harrison began his first shift on Friday evening at the Alamo Police Department, approximately 125 miles west of Savannah. According to a release from theGeorgia Bureau of Investigation, the shift included a contentious traffic stop that created a domino effect resulting in Harrison’s death.
“On Friday night, Officer Dylan Harrison was on duty when he made contact with a man for a traffic violation in the parking lot of the Circle K located across the street from the Alamo Police Department,” the press release says.
“Officer Harrison asked the man for his name and identification and the man refused,” the release continues. “The man got into a verbal altercation with Officer Harrison, that escalated to the man pushing the officer. Officer Harrison attempted to place the man under arrest. The man did not comply which led to the officer discharging his Taser. The man was arrested and taken to the Wheeler County Jail.”
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In the release, the GBI asserts that the unnamed man was a known associate of 43-year-old Damien Anthony Ferguson.
The GBI statement adds, “It is believed that the ambush-style attack on Officer Harrison was retaliation for the incident and arrest of the man.”
PEOPLE confirms that Harrison is currently being held without bond at the Laurens County Jail. He has not yet entered a plea and court records do not reflect an attorney authorized to speak on his behalf.
“She’s struggling,” Harrison’s sister-in-law, Kayla, toldFox Newsof Harrison’s widow. “It’s just unimaginable.”
His family has set up a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral and living expenses.
“We are looking to raise money so that this family who made the ultimate sacrifice can go to sleep peacefully knowing that they will have financial stability,” the GoFundMe states. “This is the least we can do for a true American hero.”
source: people.com
