Peach Tree Times

As the community mourns the loss of Georgia Police Officer Dylan Harrison, the suspect in his shooting death has been apprehended and police are describing the motive as apparent retaliation. 

Harrison was described as completely dedicated to serving the public. That passion cost him his life on Oct. 9 when he was shot and killed during his first shift as a part-timer for the Alamo Police Department.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with this officer’s family, friends and colleagues at the Alamo Police Department,” Gov. Brian Kemp said via Twitter. “May God continue to be with all who protect and serve.”

Harrison, 26, of Dublin, Georgia, was laid to rest earlier this week, mourned by family, friends and fellow officers. His survivors include his wife, Heather Milks Harrison, and his 6-month-old son, Brody Cash Harrison. 

Already a full-time agent with the Oconee Drug Task Force in nearby Dodge County, Officer Harrison had taken the part-time job in Alamo to earn money to buy a new house, according to his uncle, Michael Cauley.

"He told us he wouldn't be happy unless he was a law-enforcement officer," Cauley told CNN. "That's just what he loved doing."

Harrison had served in law enforcement for four years with previous stops at the Middle Georgia State University Police Department, Cochran Police Department and the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office.

After a manhunt, police arrested Damien Ferguson, 43, while executing a search warrant Oct. 10 at his Alamo home and charged him with the officer's murder, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release. He was also charged with aggravated stalking in connection with a prior domestic incident.

Harrison was in the midst of his first shift when, investigators said, he was fatally shot “ambush-style" around 1 a.m. just outside the police department.  Police suspect the shooting was in retaliation for an earlier encounter in the parking lot of a Circle K when Harrison used a Taser on an associate of Ferguson who was uncooperative during arrest, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.

Georgia law enforcement has been devastated by death. At least five officers have been killed in the line of duty this year and nearly two dozen had died from COVID-19, according to NBC News.