Young Police Officer On His First Shift Shot Dead Outside Station In 'Ambush-Style Attack'

A central Georgia police officer was shot dead while working his first shift on Saturday, Oct.9. The investigators on Sunday announced that a suspect involved in the fatal shooting was arrested and a potential motive behind the crime has been identified.

The deceased, 26-year-old Dylan Harrison, a part-time officer with the Alamo Police Department, was shot and killed outside his police department in Wheeler County around 1 a.m on early Saturday, in what authorities described as an "ambush-style attack."

Following a nearly 38-hour manhunt, the investigators on Sunday afternoon arrested 43-year-old Damien Ferguson from his Alamo home and later charged him with murder, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said during a news conference.

Harrison was allegedly gunned down in retaliation over an earlier confrontation that took place near the precinct on Friday night, investigators said.

The authorities revealed that Harrison was likely involved in an altercation at a parking lot on Circle K across the street from the precinct with a man who was an associate of Ferguson.

According to Lindsay Wilkes, the special agent in charge of the GBI, Harrison allegedly saw the unidentified man commit a traffic violation and made contact with him.

The man refused to provide his name and identification and resisted arrest, prompting Harrison to discharge his Taser, Wilkes said. He was eventually arrested and jailed.

"It is believed that the ambush-style attack on Officer Harrison was retaliation for the incident and the arrest of the man Friday night," Wilkes said.

According to the GBI, Ferguson was charged with murder and with aggravated stalking related to a previous domestic violence incident.

Georgia Department of Corrections records revealed that Ferguson served eight years in prison after being convicted of charges including aggravated assault of a peace officer. He was released in 2006.

Harrison, a native of Dudley, had been working part-time with the law enforcement since 2018 and was also employed full-time with the Oconee Drug Task Force in Eastman, authorities said.

He leaves behind his wife and a 6-month-old baby.

According to Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks law enforcement deaths, Harrison appears to be the fifth Georgia police officer killed in the line of duty this year.