458 US officers died in the line of duty in 2021, highest since 1930

[Sherman A1]

ARLINGTON, Va. (WJLA) — Any officer will tell you that being shot, stabbed or run over are all risks that come with their job, but not since 1930 have as many officers died in the line of duty as in 2021, according to a new report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Our country has lost 458 people that voluntarily signed up to do a job, said Troy Anderson.

Anderson is a retired Connecticut State Police sergeant who now works as the Executive Director of the Officer Safety and Wellness Program for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund,, a nonprofit that among many things, keeps track of officer fatalities.

Anderson says the numbers in the new report speak volumes:

The overall line of duty deaths are up 55%
Ambush-style murders of police officers are up more than 300% from 6% in 2020, to 19% in 2021
Last year there was a 93% jump in officers being struck and killed while outside their vehicles
COVID, contracted in the line of duty, accounted for the most officer deaths: 301

https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/458-us-officers-died-in-the-line-of-duty-in-2021-highest-since-1930

Bold highlighting is mine: I believe it speaks volumes as to why police should do everything they can to protect themselves from this virus. As to them doing so or not, I am sure that varies with the individual, but we know that there has been push back from police unions regarding mandatory vaccinations.

[Emile]

1. What % of them took the time to get vaccinated?

[Amishman]

2. The unions are pushing back against vaccinations because that is what their members want

As to them doing so or not, I am sure that varies with the individual, but we know that there has been push back from police unions regarding mandatory vaccinations.

Unions represent the will of their members, even when their members are being idiots.

Law enforcement is a very conservative leaning profession, and this is one more place we can see this coming to the surface.

[Celerity]

3. US police unions are organised crime syndicates, & should be broken up and crushed via the RICO Act

[Amishman]

5. Never thought I'd see union busting advocated on DU

The problem isn't the union, the problem is the attitudes of the members.

If you organize a group of mostly horrible people, you get a horrible organization. Remove the organization, and you still have the horrible people in those jobs.

[The Magistrate]

8. Well You Damn Sure Will With Police Unions, Sir

Her characterization of them is, if anything, quite mild.

[Amishman]

11. be careful of the precedent you set

eventually the tables will be turned

Contemplating union busting seems short sighted as the union's appalling behavior is a symptom, not the disease. The rot is the membership, which will be unchanged.

[The Magistrate]

16. We Are All On A Slippery Slope To Hell, Sir

So long as police unions treat brutalizing citizens as a perk of the job, they are of a class with any other street gang.

[LiberatedUSA]

29. And yet we never include them in gun safety legislation.

“We need to protest these cops for killling us!”
“Also, we need to ban these guns for only being good for war”.

“So let’s ensure the cops who don’t have war in their job description, making our claim these guns are only good for war and only good for mass murder very shall we say interesting, keep these guns while banning them from everyone else (the public whom the cops get protested for abusing). It just makes sense. If you don’t trust a group of people, you want to limit yourself to cowboy technology while giving them a monopoly on semiautomatic technology.”

“Yep, makes perfect sense to me. We aren’t a fan of Even Steven around here!”

“Awesome! Now back to protesting police abuse!”

[The Magistrate]

30. You Can Get Back To Me On That One, Sir

When people can expect to walk free after shooting a police officer in self-defense or in defense of another or in prevention of a felony. Hell, not just walk free but get a solid attaboy from witnessing officers.

[Dawson Leery]

27. Copper "Unions" are legalized crime families.

[Celerity]

9. The US police unions are a pseudo unions, and you must not have been paying attention, as people

here, a lot of people here, have been saying what I just said for a long time.

[Torchlight]

31. Police have been a historically significant tool in busting unions.

In the 1930s and beyond, when workers managed to form unions, companies called on local police to disperse union gatherings, marches and picket lines, using violence and mass arrests to break the will of strikers.

Today, a central concern with police unions is that they use collective bargaining to negotiate contracts that reduce police transparency and accountability. This allows officers who engage in excessive violence to avoid the consequences of their actions and remain on the job.

In a way, some police unions have created an alternative justice system that prevents police departments and municipalities from disciplining or discharging officers who have committed crimes against the people they are sworn to serve.




So arguably one could ask of you "I never thought I'd see police violence advocated on DU" with the same legitimacy you asked yours.

[VarryOn]

7. Yeah. Let's run on that. /s nt

[Celerity]

10. It is a damn shame we will not. nt

[The Magistrate]

14. It Wouldn't Work, Ma'am

Somethings are best under the hat till they can actually be done....

[Celerity]

15. Valid point, Sir. It is still a shame that it will not be done.

[mountain grammy]

19. I completely agree..

[Hortensis]

4. 93% increase in officers struck and killed while outside their vehicles?!

Horrible. Most of these people have children waiting for them to come home.

A few must be opportunistic attacks by passing drivers.

But surely most would be unintentional, an effect of the general meanness and hostility that's taken so many over. Just not feeling like being as careful as before?

Depraved indifference to life has become widespread.

[House of Roberts]

6. In 1930 US population was 122 million.

The spike in police deaths then was fueled by Prohibition era booze-runners.

Today we're at almost three times the population, so it follows that on duty police deaths would trend upward.

Covid related police deaths are not what I consider on duty deaths, even if the job caused the exposure to the disease. As first responders, law enforcement was entitled to early vaccination and should have taken advantage of the offer.

[The Magistrate]

13. Calling Covid Deaths 'In The Line Of Duty', Sir

Is mere log-rolling to get pension credits for survining family.

About 150 officers died in the line of duty in 2019, the last pre-Covid year, so actually there has been no increase in the dangers faced directly while doing police work, and it is in fact considerably less dangerous to be a police officer today than back in 1930.

[Celerity]

17. +10000

[Baked Potato]

32. Great points. Nt

[Girard442]

12. I get itchy when I see numbers presented that don't paint the most accurate picture.

The most accurate measure would be what the risk is to an individual officer rather than absolute numbers that don't take into account growth in force size.

Also, it bugs me that the headline doesn't mention right away that the most deaths were due to COVID. Those deaths might have been due to unavoidable risks in the line of duty -- or to self-destructive antivaxxism.

We'd like to know.

[bullwinkle428]

18. GUARANTEE : Republicans will use this number, WITHOUT PROVIDING THE

COVID CONTEXT, to attack Democrats with the "soft on crime" trope, in the 2022 midterm campaign.

[mountain grammy]

20. Well we know 6 of those line of duty deaths

were related to the republican insurrection on 1/6/21 republicans kill!

[mitch96]

21. Yup, Blue lives matter...... accept if you are Capitol Police..... then...F**k'em...nt

[uponit7771]

22. Now we have to worry about LEOs shooting the unvaxed right? No ?! Ah yeah, they're not ...

.. afraid of them :rolleyes:

[Midnight Writer]

23. No mention of suicides or vehicle accidents, which have been huge factors in the past.

Ambush-style murders were 6% in 2020 and 19% in 2021? What does that even mean? That nearly one in five cops were killed in ambush murders in 2021? Or is that as a percentage of total deaths? 19% of 458 deaths would be 87 ambush-style killings in 2021.

[Drunken Irishman]

24. How is it considered dying in the line of duty if it's COVID?

That really isn't a line of duty death imo and it really stretches the narrative as this headline gives the appearance that cops have been killed more than in any year (the idea that police are being targeted). It just feels disingenuous.

[Crunchy Frog]

25. They've been eligible for the vaccine since early 2021.

The bad apples have been weeding themselves out.

[RussBLib]

26. 301 out of 458 deaths due to Covid

snip from your link:

While some communities have had challenges with law enforcement, particularly in the last few years, Anderson says he doesn’t see that as a complicating factor.

Well, I do.

so 157 cops died in the line of duty, excluding Covid. From the story, 84 of those were "felonious assaults on officers."

as for the big increase (300%!!) in ambush-style shootings, I wonder what that might be attributed to? Boiled-over anger at the police for so many extra-judicial killings by cops? Easy access to guns? T****? Fox Noise? Covid-induced insanity?

[rgbecker]

28. 157 vs. 1132!

Police killed 1132 people in 2021

But of course some of these civilians must have died from Covid right? In the line of duty so to speak.

[link:https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/|