Record number of law enforcement officers died in line of duty

According to a report released by the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund in the USA today, a record number of officers died in the line of duty last year. As it to be expected the most common cause of death was Covid-19.
In total 458 law enforcement officers died in 2021, up 55 percent from the previous year’s 295. The toll in 2021 surpasses the previous record of 312 recorded way back in 1930.
The vast majority of deaths (301) were due to COVID-19, the second year in a row that the virus was the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths. The vaccination status of the 301 is not known.
The report said: “This year’s statistics demonstrate that America’s front-line law enforcement officers continue to battle the deadly effects of the Covid-19 pandemic nationwide,” the report said. “Law enforcement officers nationwide continue to be exposed to the Covid-19 virus in the course of their daily assignments; therefore, the number of line-of-duty deaths is sadly ever-increasing.”
Officers killed by guns rose 36% from the previous year with handguns accounting for the highest number of deaths by this method. October was also listed as the deadliest month with eight killed by guns.
Traffic-related killings rose by a similar percentage with the number of killings during stops rising by 38 percent from 2020.
The murders of law enforcement offices continues to rise in the USA however the pandemic has clearly played a role and has led to the unfortunate statistic, that a record number of officers have died.

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