Highlights
264 police officers were killed in the line of duty in 2020 representing a 96% increase compared to the previous year.
Includes “other” causes, which includes COVID-19 deaths, which is up 300%
Article
WASHINGTON (ABC7) — A staggering 264 police officers were killed in the line of duty in 2020 representing a 96% increase compared to the previous year, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
As of Dec. 31, 2020, the 264 officers killed consisted of federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial officers in the line of duty compared to 135 officers who died in the line of duty in 2019. The Memorial Fund’s report also records the deaths of officers in the category of “other” causes, which includes COVID-19 deaths, which is up 300% compared to other causes last year.
Approximately 246 of the fallen officers were men and 18 were women with the average age of the fallen officer 47 years old with at least 17 years of service on the job and on average. Each fallen officer left behind two children.
Gun-Related Deaths
The Memorial Fund’s report says gun-related deaths claimed the lives of 48 officers last year, a 6% decline compared to 51 officers killed in gun-related incidents in 2019.
Of the 48 officer gun-related deaths, 11 fatalities involved an officer investigating a suspicious person or activity, seven officers were killed responding to domestic disturbance calls, six deaths each involved officers attempting an arrest and an ambush on the officers, three deaths were tactical situations, and three others were in response to domestic disturbance calls.
Four officers died responding to a robbery or burglary in-progress call while three officers were killed during traffic stops. Two officers were killed last year while serving warrants, two others were killed by inadvertent gunfire and one police officer was killed by firearms while responding to a mental health call.
Traffic-Related Deaths
According to the Memorial Fund report, traffic-related fatalities rose 2% with 44 officer deaths last year compared to 43 deaths in 2019. Of the 44 officer deaths, 18 of them were car crashes involving a collision with another vehicle, eight officer deaths involved single-vehicle crashes, 15 officers killed were hit while they were on the side of the road, and three deaths involved a motorcycle crash.
Moreover, the Memorial Fund states that there are currently 22,217 names of officers killed in the line of duty inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in D.C. which dates back to the first known officer LOD death back in 1786.
Records show that 1930 was the deadliest year for officers when 307 were killed in the line of duty. According to the Memorial Fund, the last time officer deaths were under 100 for a single year was 1944.
For more information and to see the complete version of the report, click here.
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