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the number of law enforcement of cers who died in the line of duty nationwide in 2018 rose 12 percent compared to those killed in 2017, according to the National Law Enforcement
Of cers Memorial Fund. As of Dec. 27, 2018, 144 federal state and local, tribal and territorial of cers died in the line of duty compared to 129 of cers killed in 2017.
Unfortunately, one more of cer was added to that total after the 2018 Preliminary End of Year Law Enforcement Fatalities Report was released, bringing the total tally to 145, said Steve Groeninger, Me- morial Fund Senior Director of Communications & Marketing.
“The rising number of law enforcement of cer deaths in 2018 is disappointing news after a decline in 2017,” said National Law En- forcement Of cers Memorial Fund Founding CEO Emeritus Craig W. Floyd. “Sadly, this reminds us that public safety is a dangerous job and can come at a very steep price. We must never take the service and sacri ce of law enforcement of cers for granted, and we must remember the families of the fallen who are left behind.”
Firearms-related and traf c-related fatalities were the leading cause of deaths in 2018 with 53 of cers killed in rearms-related incidents and 50 in traf c-related incidents. That’s a 15 percent rise from the 46 rearms-related fatalities in 2017 and a 9 percent in- crease from 2017 traf c-related deaths.
Among the rearms-related fatalities:
• 14 occurred while of cers were attempting to place an individ-
ual under arrest.
• Eight of cers were killed while conducting an investigative
activity.
• Seven were killed responding to public disturbance calls.
• Six were killed responding to domestic disturbances.
• Five were ambushed in 2018, a 50 percent decrease over 2017.
• Four of cers were shot and killed conducting traf c stops. Two
were killed while serving warrants and two while handling or transporting prisoners. Two of cers were inadvertently shot by other law enforcement personnel. One of cer was killed respond- ing to a burglary; one during a tactical situation and one was killed while responding to a call for an armed suicidal suspect.
Handguns were the lead- ing type of firearm used against law enforcement in
2018. Of the 53 of cer fatali- ties, 32 of cers were shot and
killed with a handgun and four were dis- armed and shot with their own duty weapons. Of the 50 traf c-related fatalities, 32 of cers
were killed in crashes. Fourteen were struck outside of their vehicle, a 56 percent increase over the nine of cers
struck and killed in 2017. Four more were killed in motorcycle crashes. The 32 crashes included 16 single-vehicle crashes, an increase of 14 percent over the previous year when 14 of cers died in
single-vehicle crashes. Seven of the single-vehicle deadly crash- es involved of cers responding to a call for service or as backup to another of cer.
Of cer deaths from other causes also rose in 2018 to 42, a 14 percent increase over the 37 who died in 2017. These were due to the following:
• Job-related illnesses such as heart attacks or strokes were the cause of 33 of cer deaths, a 57 percent increase over the 21 who died in 2017.
• Cancers caused 15 of cer deaths related to search and recovery efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Centers.
• Four other of cers drowned, three were beaten to death, and a train struck and killed two of cers.
The most 2018 line of duty deaths occurred in Texas, Florida, Cal- ifornia, and New York with 11 each. North Carolina had seven deaths; Georgia had six; Indiana and South Carolina each had ve. Two territorial of cers and 10 federal of cers also died in 2018. Of the fallen of cers, 135 were male and 10 were female. The average age was 41 years with an average length of 12 years of service.
There are 21,541 names of of cers killed in the line of duty in- scribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, dating back to 1791. The statistics released are based on preliminary data compiled by the National Law Enforce- ment Of cers Memorial Fund and do not represent a nal or com- plete list of individual of cers who will be added to the National Law Enforcement Of cers Memorial in 2019. d
Click here for a complete copy of the preliminary 2018 Law Enforcement Fatalities Report.
The Police Of cers Journal
On the Rise: 145 Law Enforcement Of cers died in the line of duty in 2018
— Excerpted from National Law Enforcement Of cers Memorial Fund
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