According to the National Fraternal Order of Police, COVID-19 has killed 439 police officers in the line of duty. 105 of those have occurred in Texas, 45 in California and 40 in New York. As of today, COVID-19 is the leading cause of line of duty death in 2021 and that is after the site lists 223 deaths from the virus last year. A total of 346 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in 2020 according to ODMP, making not the single most deadliest year in history.
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.”
