Deaths of on-duty officers rose in 2018, report finds

There was a 12 percent increase in the number of officers who died on duty in the U.S. between 2017 and 2018, according to new data released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

So far this year, 144 federal, state and local law enforcement officers have died overall, up 12 percent from the same time last year, the data shows.

{mosads}Fifty-two of the officers who died on duty this year were killed in a firearms-related incident, a 13 percent uptick from 2017. 

Fifty officers this year died in traffic-related incidents, up 9 percent from last year, according to the data.

The rest of the recorded officers’ deaths were attributed to drowning, electrocution, job-related illnesses, poisoning, aircraft crashes or fire-related incidents, the fund reported.

Fourteen of the officer deaths this year occurred while officers were trying to arrest individuals and eight were killed while participating in investigative activities, according to the data. Six of the officers were killed responding to domestic and public disturbance calls.

Five of the fallen officers were ambushed this year, a 50 percent decrease from 2017.

California, Florida, New York and Texas all saw the highest number of officer deaths on duty, with 11 officers dying over the last year in each of those states. 

“The rising number of law enforcement officer deaths in 2018 is disappointing news after a decline in 2017,” National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund CEO Craig W. Floyd said in a statement. “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 sacrifice of law enforcement officers for granted, and we must remember the families of the fallen who are left behind.”

Ten of the fallen officers were women and 134 were men, according to the data.