Why Have More Police Died in 2021 vs. 2020?
Deaths are due to a wide range of circumstances including COVID-19, other illnesses, car accidents and shootings/
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The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) has found that the rate of on-the-job fatalities for police is higher this year than it was at this time in 2020, reports NPR. The NLEOMF, which tracks federal, state, military, tribal and local law enforcement officers deaths, reports that as of Monday, June 21, a total of 151 total deaths were recorded — an 11 percent jump from last year compared to Jan. 1 to June 21, 2020 when the organization recorded 136 police officers who died in the line of duty. From 2010-2019, the leading cause of line-of-duty law enforcement officer deaths was fatal shootings, according to the NLEOMF. A reported 528 men and women police officers were shot and killed.
In 2020, 295 officers in total died, with at least 182 dying from COVID-19, a 300 percent increase in a cause of death unrelated to firearms or car crashes, otherwise categorized as “other causes,” the organization said. Illnesses or medical emergencies like heart attacks or strokes at work resulted in the death of 88 police officers so far this year. This time in 2020, 85 officers died due to illnesses or other causes. From 2006-2019, 809 officers died due to motor vehicle related incidents – 43 percent of all line-of-duty deaths. So far in 2021, a recorded 36 police officers were killed due to car crashes. By this time in 2020, 25 officers were killed by crashes or other traffic-related incidents.
