Middle Georgia man killed in police standoff after barricading inside home
An emergency call about a suicidal man in the Middle Georgia town of Perry ended Tuesday with the man’s death after he barricaded himself inside his home and refused to surrender his gun, according to the GBI.
Matthew Deese, 32, of Perry, was shot during failed negotiations with police and Houston County sheriff’s deputies at a home on Bedford Court, the GBI said in a news release. He was taken to Navicent Health in Macon and pronounced dead.
No officers were injured during the incident.
Perry police responded to the home after getting calls about a suicidal man and were met by Deese, who was carrying a gun, the GBI said. Officers asked him to surrender the gun several times, but Deese refused and barricaded himself inside.
The Houston sheriff’s office was called for assistance and their Special Response Team responded to the scene. Negotiations continued with Deese after the deputies arrived, but the GBI did not say how long the talks lasted. At some point, Deese was fatally shot by law enforcement.
Perry police have requested the GBI to conduct an independent investigation.
This is the 17th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year; six of the shootings have been fatal.
This is also the second shooting involving law enforcement to take place in Middle Georgia in the span of a week. On Friday, the GBI opened an investigation after a suspect shot at an East Dublin police officer during a car chase and the officer returned fire, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. The officer was not injured, and the suspect escaped and was not identified.
The AJC also tracks officer-involved shootings that don’t involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI’s tally.
About the Author
Henri Hollis is a reporter and restaurant critic for the Food & Dining team. Formerly a freelance writer and photographer with a focus on food and restaurants, he joined the AJC full-time in January 2021, first covering breaking news. He is a lifelong Atlantan and a graduate of Georgia Tech.
