Excerpted from National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund

Law enforcement line-of-duty deaths by mid-year 2024 have increased by 15 percent nationally when compared to the first half of 2023, with firearms-related deaths as the leading cause of those fatalities, according to preliminary data provided by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

During the first six months of 2024, 71 federal, state, county, municipal, tribal and officers from the U.S. Territories have died in the line of duty, compared to 62 officers who died from January through June 2023. 

While shootings accounted for the most officer fatalities, traffic-related deaths in the first half of 2024 showed the sharpest increase when compared to traffic deaths by mid-year in 2023. Two Michigan law enforcement officers were among those killed by gunfire – Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Deputy William Butler, a POLC member, and Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Bradley Reckling. Michigan State Police Trooper Joel Popp was killed in a traffic-related incident.

“Every single line-of-duty death we report represents a selfless sacrifice made on behalf of the community and the nation in which they serve,” said National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) CEO Bill Alexander. “We lament to document even a single such death, much less report a substantial increase in such deaths year over year. Part of our continuing mission is to use such data to not only highlight the continuing dangers faced by our law enforcement professionals, but to craft policies and training recommendations which we hope will make it safer for the noble men and women who work tirelessly to protect us.”

Firearms-related deaths claimed the lives of 28 officers from January through June 30, 2024, an 8 percent increase over the 26 officers killed by gunfire in the first half of 2023. Of the 28 firearms deaths this year: five officers were killed during a traffic stop or pursuit; four while serving a felony warrant; three each were shot during domestic disputes and investigating suspicious persons or activities. Two officers died in each of the following shooting circumstances: tactical situations; serving civil papers; disturbance calls; attempting arrests; ambushed in unprovoked attacks; and accidental shootings. One officer was killed enroute home after his shift.

Traffic-related fatalities were a close second with 26 such line-of-duty deaths in the first half of 2024. Traffic-related deaths also represent a significant increase of 136 percent, when compared to 11 officers killed in the first half of 2023. The 2024 mid-year traffic-related deaths include: 15 in automobile crashes; nine in struck-by incidents involving officers hit by a vehicle while outside their patrol vehicle; and two in motorcycle crashes.

Officer deaths in the ‘other’ category, which includes a wide variety of health-related and other line-of duty fatalities, declined by 32 percent with 17 deaths by mid-year 2024 compared to 25 for the same period last year. Nine law enforcement officers died from health-related illnesses, such as heart attacks and strokes. Two officers each were stabbed and beaten to death and one officer died in each of the following circumstances: aircraft crash; drowning; fire-related incident; and electrocution.

New York and Texas had the highest number of officer fatalities during the first half of 2024 with five deaths each. Four officers each were killed in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Three line-of-duty fatalities occurred in Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Two officers each were killed in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico and Ohio. Seventeen states had one line-of-duty death during the first half of 2024: Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Three federal officers, two tribal officers and two officers from U.S. Territories were also killed.

The statistics released in the 2024 mid-year report are based on preliminary data compiled by the NLEOMF and may not represent a final or complete list of individual officers who will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in 2025. There are over 24,000 names of officers killed in the line-of-duty inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, dating back to the first known death in 1786.

Please click here for a complete copy of the 2024 Mid-Year Preliminary Law Enforcement Officers Fatalities Report.