• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Advertise
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

54 Police Officers Have Died From COVID-19

April 14, 2020
Law OfficerbyLaw Officer
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

According to the National Fraternal Order of Police, COVID-19 has killed 54 police officers in the line of duty. 20 of those have occurred in New York.

With the peak of the deadly virus still pending in many cities, there is concern in the profession that the worst is yet to come.

National Trainer, Travis Yates, tells us that with the nature of law enforcement and the inability of those in the profession to do what many Americans are able to do in the middle of this crisis to prevent exposure, line of duty deaths due to COVID-19 will likely become the second largest killer of law enforcement by a single event.

58 police officers died on 9/11 with another 252 in the years that have followed due to exposure.

“It is a tragic situation where for the first time in our history, the enemy we face is invisible and it one that quite frankly many in law enforcement feel extremely vulnerable to,” Yates told us.

PRESIDENT TRUMP ENSURES COVID-19 DEATHS WILL BE COVERED AS LODD

The Officer Down Memorial Page has listed four officers to date that they have confirmed have been line of duty deaths but according to Yates many more are likely to be listed in the coming weeks.

“I implore every agency and every officer to document every action they take on duty. I cannot fathom anyone attempting to argue whether these tragedies occurred in the line of duty but similar to the aftermath of 9/11, we have to expect that in some locations, there will be a debate and that would be the ultimate travesty,” according to Yates.

In the coming days, we will be working on an exhaustive list of officers killed by COVID-19. The Fraternal Order of Police has set up a website with detailed information regarding COVID-19. We highly recommend this resource.

Broward County (FL) Deputy Sheriff Shannon Bennett

Riverside County (CA) Deputy Sheriff Terrell Young

Chicago (IL) Police Officer Marco DiFranco

Detroit (MI) Captain Jonathan Parnell

Santa Rosa (CA) Detective Marylou Armer

Montgomery County (NC) Deputy Sypraseuth Phouangphrachanh 

On April 9, 2020, The Department of Justice announced that any law enforcement officer that dies from COVID-19 will be covered as the victim of a line of duty death. In a statement issued, “in the absence of evidence showing a different cause of death, BJA generally will find that the evidence shows a public safety officer who died while suffering from COVID-19 died as the direct and proximate result of COVID-19.”

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with
more than 350,000 members. With inconclusive guidance on this pressing matter, the FOP took the issue of COVID-19 and line of duty death benefits directly to the White House.

According to FOP President Patrick Yoes, “We are extremely grateful, as always, to President Trump for his
decisive leadership, especially in this time of crisis and for the exceptional team he has put together at the
Justice Department.”

Travis Yates calls today’s decision both a sigh of relief and a blessing that law enforcement did not have in the previous years.

“It was heartbreaking under the former administration when families, mourning from the loss of their family member, had to worry about the benefits that were either being delayed or denied. It was the hard work of the Fraternal Order of Police and the Concerns of Police Survivors that took that fight to Washington DC when it should not have happened and I am extremely grateful to President Trump to ensuring that these heroes will not only be remembered but that their families will receive the benefits that they rightly deserve,” Yates said.

 


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: coronaviruscovid-19NewsOfficer Down
Law Officer

Law Officer

Law Officer is the only major law enforcement publication and website owned and operated by law enforcement—for law enforcement and supporters of justice, law, and order. This unique facet makes Law Officer much more than just a publishing company, but a true advocate for the law enforcement profession.

Related Posts

Rookie police officer in training killed in shooting

June 1, 2024

2 police officers and paramedic killed at domestic violence call

February 18, 2024

In Remembrance of Me: Christmas 2023

December 25, 2023
Source: TMPA.ORG

Austin police officer shot and killed, another officer injured

November 11, 2023

Suspect in killing of Philadelphia police officer spotted on surveillance video

October 14, 2023

Deputy dies 16 years after on-duty crash that left her paralyzed

September 23, 2023
Load More

Latest Articles

Melissa Hortman

Former Minnesota House Speaker Assassinated in Attack on Multiple Lawmakers

June 14, 2025

Sheriff: If You Throw a Brick At Our Deputy, ‘We Will Kill You, Graveyard Dead’

June 13, 2025

Former USAID Officer and Executives Plead Guilty in $550 Million Bribery Scheme

June 13, 2025

A Case Study in Federal Corruption and Media Silence

June 12, 2025

‘Completely blew it’: Former union president calls out Minneapolis Police Department leadership missteps

June 12, 2025
Pixabay

Police Shoot Man Wielding Chainsaw During Disturbance

June 12, 2025
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

Protect Your Privacy

JOIN THE FIGHT

BE COURAGEOUS

POPULAR GEAR

Tactical Pants

Tactical Boots

 

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2024 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Advertise
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2024 LawOfficer.com