Staff Sergeant Clyde Almond Tub Merritt was killed while trying to aid a fellow officer during an eviction call in Coffee County, Georgia, on January 3, 2000. Broxton Police Officer James Bryant had been dispatched to assist with the eviction; the renter had hidden a deer rifle in nearby woods and ambushed Officer Bryant as he approached. Bryant was fatally shot, and when Merritt and a Georgia State Patrol trooper arrived they found Bryant wounded.

As the trooper attempted to crawl to the downed officer, Merritt provided cover. The suspect fired again and struck Merritt in the chest, killing him. The male suspect was later surrounded and apprehended after a standoff with multiple agencies. Merritt was a ten-year veteran of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office and was survived by his wife and three daughters.