Greenville police officer shot and killed in the line of duty
Greenville Police Department officer Allen Jacobs was shot and killed Friday in the line of duty.
“We lose, we hurt, we ache,” Greenville Police Chief Ken Miller said. “No one wants to lose their officers.”
Jacobs was pursuing on foot a “known gang member” in the Nicholtown community near downtown and was shot multiple times as he rounded the corner of a house before he died Friday afternoon, Miller said.
The suspect in the shooting took his own life while being surrounded by police officers near the Swamp Rabbit Trail, Miller said.
Jacobs, 28, a decorated veteran of the Iraqi War, was the father of two young boys, and his wife is pregnant, Miller said.
The suspect, Deontea Perry Mackey, 17, was listed in a national police data base as a gang member, Miller said. Miller would not identify the gang, saying he did not want to give them the attention.
Jacobs’ weapon was still holstered and he was wearing a bullet-proof vest.
The incident began at about 12:20 p.m., when officers patrolling in the Nicholtown Community saw Mackey and wanted to talk with him about a weapon, Miller said. He said they were not trying to serve a warrant, as he said earlier in the day. The officers approached Mackey to conduct a field interview, and Mackey took off running, he said.
As Mackey rounded the corner of a house, he was met with a hail of gunfire, Miller said.
Officers gave Jacobs CPR, and he was taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital, where he died, Miller said.
The suspect continued to run toward the Swamp Rabbit Trail, where two officers were waiting at the trail spur. Cornered, Miller said the officers saw the suspect call his mother before taking his own life.
The last Greenville police officer killed in action was Officer Russ Sorrow, who was shot by a wanted suspect on Sept. 19, 1996.
FOREST ACRES’ KASSY ALIA REACHES OUT
Kassy Alia’s husband, a Forest Acres police officer, was killed Sept. 30, 2015. On Friday, she urged S.C. residents to give to a GoFundMe page set up by Columbia’s Heroes in Blue for the family of slain Greenville officer Allen Jacobs.
“Not even six months ago, I lost my husband and the father of my child, Officer Gregory Alia of the Forest Acres Police Department.
“Within hours, Greg’s fraternity brothers and close friends, led by Patrick Walsh who is the facilitator of this page, initiated a GoFundMe campaign to support myself and my 6-month old son, Sal.
“That page provided Sal and me with incredible financial resources which will support us the rest of our lives.
“That page facilitated offers for community support that have alleviated the pressures and strain of the aftermath of grief. That page garnered national attention and an outpouring of love and generosity that would help me continue to believe in humanity.
“Sadly, we now have the unfortunate opportunity to give back.”
The address: https://www.gofundme.com/greenvillepdHIB
This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Greenville police officer shot and killed in the line of duty."