How many law enforcement officers are killed in the line of duty each year?

Joyce Lupiani

ATLANTA - The recent line-of-duty deaths of Paulding County Deputy Brandon Cunningham and Carroll County Deputy Taylor Bristow are shining a spotlight once again on the number of law enforcement officers who are killed each year.

RELATED: Paulding County deputy killed during violent call, gunman dead

In 2023, a total of 136 federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement officers lost their lives in the line of duty, according to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. This figure represents a decrease compared to previous years, particularly in the number of officers killed by gunfire.

Firearms Fatalities See a Notable Drop

Out of the 136 officers who died, 47 were shot and killed, marking a 25% decrease from the 65 officers killed by firearms in 2022. This reduction is also lower than the average number of deaths over the past decade. The report detailed the circumstances of these firearm fatalities:

  • 9 officers were killed while attempting to make an arrest

  • 7 died while handling domestic disputes

  • 6 were investigating suspicious circumstances or persons

  • 5 were ambushed

  • 5 were killed while making or attempting to make traffic stops

  • 5 died while responding to robbery or burglary calls

  • 2 were shot while handling disturbance calls

  • 2 were killed while serving warrants

  • 2 died during tactical situations

Additionally, one officer was inadvertently shot during training, another was killed while intervening in a crime off duty, and two fatalities were not clearly defined.

Traffic and Other Fatalities

In 2023, 37 officers lost their lives in traffic-related incidents, while 52 officers died from other causes.

State-by-State Analysis

New York, Texas, and Louisiana recorded the highest number of line-of-duty deaths in 2023, with 13, 11, and 8 fatalities, respectively. Other states with significant losses included California (7), Indiana (6), and Tennessee (6). Five each died in Georgia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and 4 each died in Florida, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. Some states, such as Alaska, Arizona, Maryland, and Maine, did not experience any line-of-duty deaths during the year.

Number of assaults also climbing

According to a study done by the FBI, 79,091 officers were assaulted in 2023, marking the highest officer assault rate in the past 10 years. Most officer assaults occured when responding to simple assaults against a non-officer (6,783 incidents), followed by drug/narcotic violations (4,879). The number of officers assaulted and injured by firearms has also climbed over the years, reaching a 10-year high in 2023.

Profile of Fallen Officers

The majority of the fallen officers were male, with an average age of 45 years, typically having served around 15 years in law enforcement. Many of these officers also left behind two children.

A look at 2024

As of this year, the Officer Down Memorial Page has already recorded 89 line-of-duty deaths nationwide, with 35 of those attributed to gunfire.

So far, the total number of line-of-duty deaths for 2024 is down 1% and down 8% for deaths as a result of gunfire. However, death by auto is up 67% so far for 2024.

Over the past five years, 1,849 officers have died in the line of duty, with 2,745 deaths in the last decade and 26,690 (878 in Georgia) since the Officer Down Memorial Page began tracking these incidents.

Notable Losses in Georgia

Among those who lost their lives in 2023 and 2024 were several officers from Georgia, including:

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