Law Enforcement Deaths Hit Record High in 2021

The number of police officers killed in the line of duty in 2021 hit a record high, exacerbating challenges inside police departments already dealing with staffing shortages, COVID-19 and skyrocketing crime rates.

More police officers have died in 2021 than any other year in U.S. history, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. {snip}

In 2021, estimates range from 358 to 477 officers killed in the line of duty. Both numbers are still significantly higher than previous years. Using preliminary data, compared to 2020, firearms-related fatalities are up 31% and traffic-related fatalities are up 30%.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data shows 70 police officers have been feloniously killed in 2021, an increase of more than 50% in one year. A November FBI report stated that unprovoked attacks, where an officer is killed without having had official contact with the offender, “continued to outpace all other circumstances of felonious officer deaths.”

“Ambush-style attacks” were up 126% at the beginning of December from the previous year, the Fraternal Order of Police reported.

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