Last year was the deadliest for active-duty law enforcement in nearly a century, with COVID-19 identified as the leading cause of death for the second year in a row.
Some 458 local, state, tribal and federal officers died in the line of duty in 2021, according to a preliminary report from the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum (NLEOMF). That makes an increase of 55% from the previous year’s tally of 295 and the highest total number since 1930.
COVID-19-related fatalities — there were 301 — were the leading cause of death last year, as they were in 2020 when at least 182 officers died of the virus.
Read more at NPR
