2024 - the other numbers
we don't like to think about this
Yesterday I posted an article on the 2024 officer-involved-shooting statistics.
I explained the numbers, debunked the obvious and lazy pushback that I would undoubtedly get from anti-police activists and ended with my signature line - the police are not the problem.
That article was easy to write.
This one isn’t.
Officer Down
In 2024 there were 144 police officers who died in the line of duty.
49 officers were murdered by gunfire.
20 officers were killed in vehicle crashes.
14 officers were killed by 9/11 related illnesses.
12 officers died of a heart attack.
12 officers were fatally struck by vehicles.
11 officers were murdered during vehicular assaults.
2 officers were murdered by stabbing.
2 officers died by drowning.
1 officer died from electrocution.
(Data from the Officer Down Memorial Page & the full list).
Just passively scan
It’s tempting to passively read through these numbers like statistics on the back of a baseball card. Because then you do not have to really think about how every one of these individuals was a police officer - out there taking calls and stopping cars - just like you (or someone you know).
Sadly, we have all been to a police funeral. Every life matters. Every life has value. Everyone is important to someone. We all know this. But, the truth is, that it always hits harder when someone who went out into the world on a mission to protect others - doesn’t make it back home. Because the hero isn’t supposed to die.
The First
The first (and second) police funeral that I went to was while I was still in the police academy during the summer of 2005.
Two police officers (Michael King and Richard Smith) from my agency were murdered while on a call - ambushed by a maniac that was off his meds. They never saw it coming. These guys both had over twenty years of service under their belts. If it could happened to these two department legends - it could happen to any of us. Sitting on that cold gym floor listening to the Deputy Chief of Police inform my class of the tragedy that just happened, as he fought back tears - this horrible part of the job became real.
The normally no-nonsense, robotic instructors displayed a brief moment of humanity and expressed that if anyone wanted to quit and not finish this thing and come back for another class - they would understand.
Not one of my classmates quit.
Every name on the Officer Down Memorial Page is a “Mike King” or “Richard Smith” to someone. And, the real thought of that is almost too much.
Take care of each other and remember why you started this in the first place.
Resources & information - first responder stress management/PTSD:
I'm so sorry about the personal losses you experienced. How awful.
Assaults on officers recently reached a 10-year high. Officers are being shot at, ambushed, punched, stabbed, mowed over by cars, and attacked with chemical weaponry in greater numbers. More than 79,000 officers were assaulted in 2023 alone, and these are just the ones we know of; I'm not certain if all agencies are reporting this data to federal law enforcement. That more haven't died is a testament, in part, to medical advancements.
Thanks for always staying true to the facts.
https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-releases-officers-killed-and-assaulted-in-the-line-of-duty-2023-special-report-and-law-enforcement-employee-counts
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻