A police officer with his whole life ahead of him had it cut short over, of all things, a traffic stop.
Dylan Harrison was a 26-year-old police officer who had been in law enforcement since 2018. He dedicated himself to service from a young age, having been a paramedic and a firefighter, aside from his work on the Oklahoma Drug Task Force and the police force in Dublin, Georgia.
Officer Harrison reported to the Alamo Police Department for his first shift on the evening of October 8, 2021. He was outside of the police department when he witnessed a traffic violation across the street, in the parking lot of a Circle K convenience store. What should have been a routine traffic stop caused the domino effect that resulted in Harrison's death.
A release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation explains what happened next.
"Officer Harrison asked the man for his name and identification and the man refused. The man got into a verbal altercation with Officer Harrison, that escalated to the man pushing the officer," the release reads, according to People.
"Officer Harrison attempted to place the man under arrest," the statement continues.
"The man did not comply which led to the officer discharging his Taser. The man was arrested and taken to the Wheeler County Jail."
Hours later, Officer Harrison was outside the police department again when he was gunned down.
"It is believed that the ambush-style attack on Officer Harrison was retaliation for the incident and arrest of the man," the statement notes.
Police went on a 38-hour manhunt for the suspect, believed to be an associate of the man Officer Harrison had arrested earlier in the day. Damien Anthony Ferguson, 43, was taken into custody on the afternoon of October 10 without incident. He's charged with murder, as well as aggravated stalking related to a previous domestic incident.
Ferguson has had encounters with the law previously. He served eight years in prison after being convicted of charges including aggravated assault of a peace officer, Georgia Department of Corrections records show.
Officer Harrison leaves behind a wife and a 6-month-old baby.
"She's struggling. It's just unimaginable," his sister, Kayla Harrison, told Fox News.
David Harrison, Dylan's brother, explained that the family worried about Dylan working two police jobs, which he did to save up for a house.
"We've all had that talk with him. We've all encouraged that out of him because we knew the dangers of it," he noted.
A GoFundMe page has been organized to help his wife and child attain financial stability as they figure out what's next. It is close to its $110,000 goal.
