No charges filed as GBI closes investigation of fatal officer-involved shooting in Perry

The GBI’s investigation of a February 2022 officer-involved shooting in Perry has been closed, with no charges pending.

Houston County District Attorney William Kendall determined the incident to be a justified homicide after reviewing the case file. He said no criminal charges have been filed.

“The individual involved raised a firearm, pointed it directly at one of the deputies and the deputy in response returned fire,” Kendall said.

On Feb. 22, 2022, the Perry Police Department responded to a home in the 100 block of Bedford Court after receiving a call about a suicidal man, according to the GBI.

Matthew Deese, 32, exited the home holding a gun and officers made several unsuccessful attempts to convince him to put the gun down. A GBI release said Deese then barricaded himself inside the home.

The Houston County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team was then called to assist and continued to attempt to negotiate with Deese.

Deese was shot by one or more deputies during the incident and was taken to a Macon hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The GBI did not state exactly where the shooting took place or the specific details leading up to it.

The incident was one of two fatal officer-involved shootings in Houston County last year that involved mental health concerns.

Local community service board Middle Flint Behavioral Healthcare recently applied for seed funding from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) with hopes to create a co-response team in Houston County.

The co-response team would partner Houston County law enforcement officials with a behavioral health professional to assist when responding to mental health crises.