Suspect arrested on dying of first-shift officer in Georgia – East Bay Instances

ALAMO, Georgia (AP) – Authorities have arrested a man suspected of gunning down a Georgia police officer while on his first shift with the division.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced on Sunday that 43-year-old Damien Anthony Ferguson had been taken into custody after a major manhunt. Further details were not released, and authorities said they planned to hold a press conference later that day.

Authorities said Ferguson fatally shot and killed officer Dylan Harrison, 26, outside the Alamo Police Department early Saturday. Officials did not say what sparked the shooting in Wheeler County, about 90 miles southeast of Macon.

“Officer Harrison was a part-time Alamo officer who was on his first shift with the department last night,” GBI spokeswoman Natalie Ammons said during a press conference, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She said Harrison was also a full-time agent with the Oconee Drug Task Force in nearby Dodge County.

Harrison lived in Laurens County, leaving behind his wife and 6 month old son.

“Our righteous thoughts, prayers, and condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of Officer Dylan Harrison, who was killed on duty in the Alamo last night,” Telfair County Sheriff Sim Davidson wrote on a Facebook post. “We are wholeheartedly grateful to him for his services.”

Harrison was the first Alamo officer killed on duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, who tracks deaths from law enforcement agencies. In January, Alamo police officer Arturo Villegas died of COVID-19 complications.

Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia Department of Public Safety tweeted their condolences to the officer’s family and colleagues.

“May God continue to be with all who protect and serve,” wrote Kemp.

At least five Georgia officials have been killed on duty this year, and nearly two dozen more have died of COVID-19, according to the memorial site. In 2020, seven Georgia officers were killed on duty.