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South Carolina Officer Shot: 17-Year-Old Gang Member Commits Suicide After Killing Officer To Avoid Arrest

By Louis Babcock
Published on: 00:44 PST, Mar 19, 2016

South Carolina police officer, Allen Lee Jacobs, was shot and killed yesterday by Deontea Perry Mackey. Mackey then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide in order to avoid going to jail for killing a police officer. Officer Jacobs was 28-years-old and Mackey was a minor at 17-years-old. Greenville Police Chief Ken Miller commented on the tragedy his police force is now dealing with.

“We lose, we hurt, we ache. No one wants to lose their officers. When you lose an officer the community loses an officer. I have come to know this officer and his work ethic and have found him to be an extraordinary person and officer and contributed to the police mission. He was as dedicated as anyone could be dedicated.”

Officer Jacobs was attempting to serve a warrant on Mackey when the gang member ran away. Jacobs began a foot pursuit. Mackay turned a corner and Jacobs lost his visual on the subject. When the officer turned the corner during his pursuit, Mackey was waiting with his gun and shot multiple Jacobs times. After the officer was shot, Mackey continued running until other officers cornered him. Once cornered, Mackay phoned his mother and then shot himself. It is believed that he committed suicide in order to avoid being arrested for the murder of a police officer.

According to Miller, other officers arrived on the scene and attempted first aid on their fallen officer.

“Our officers who were here on the scene and to assist performed CPR on our officer and the CPR was unsuccessful.”

Jacobs was transported to Greenville Memorial Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Jacobs’ weapon was still holstered when he was killed. Jacobs was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of the shooting.

Jacobs, a decorated veteran from the war in Iraq, leaves behind a pregnant wife and two children. His wife is due to give birth in July. Jacobs served the public as a police officer in Greenville for four years. A GoFundMe page has been established in order to help his family with funeral costs and other expenses.

“Greenville (S.C.) Police Officer Allen Jacobs was killed in the line of duty Friday as he attempted to serve a warrant. This page and fundraiser is set up by Patrick Walsh on behalf of the non-profit organization Heroes In Blue so that we may raise money for his widow and children. All monies will go direct to Officer Jacobs’ family.”

Jacobs is the first officer killed in the line of duty in 20 years in Greenville. This was not the first time Jacobs was involved in an incident that could have killed him. In 2014, Darell Johnson used his vehicle as a weapon and ran into Jacobs. Jacobs suffered a broken leg. The reason Johnson was stopped was because his music in his car was too loud and Jacobs was just going to ask him to lower the volume.

The Officer Down Memorial page keeps track of police officers that die. According to the page, 25 police officers have died in the line of duty. Of those 25, 13 were killed by gunfire. At this point last year, 28 officers died. Of those 28, only four were killed by gunfire.

Over the past couple of years, police officers have been under fire for their use of force. Some officers feel like the cities they are sworn to protect have turned their backs on them. Some even feel like that they are a target for being killed.

[Image Via Greenville Police Department]

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