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

ATLANTA – The recent line-of-duty deaths of Paulding County Deputy Brandon Cunningham and Carroll County Deputy Taylor Bristow once again shine a spotlight on the number of police officers killed each year.

RELATED: Paulding County deputy sheriff killed in violent incident, shooter 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 number represents a decrease from previous years, particularly in the number of officers killed by gunfire.

Deaths from firearms have declined significantly

Of the 136 officers killed, 47 were killed by firearms, a 25% decrease from the 65 officers killed by firearms in 2022. This decrease is also lower than the average number of deaths over the past decade. The report details the circumstances of these firearm deaths:

• 9 officers were killed while attempting an arrest
• 7 died while settling domestic disputes
• 6 investigated suspicious circumstances or persons
• 5 were attacked
• 5 were killed while conducting or attempting to conduct traffic stops
• 5 died while responding to reports of robbery or burglary
• 2 were shot while answering calls about disturbances
• 2 were killed during the execution of arrest warrants
• 2 died in tactical situations

In addition, one officer was accidentally shot during training, another was killed while intervening in the pursuit of a crime while off duty, and two fatalities could not be accurately identified.

Road fatalities and other deaths

In 2023, 37 police officers lost their lives in traffic accidents, while 52 police officers died from other reasons.

Analysis of the individual states

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 were California (7), Indiana (6) and Tennessee (6). Georgia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania each had five deaths, and Florida, Oklahoma and Wisconsin each had four deaths. Some states, such as Alaska, Arizona, Maryland and Maine, had no line-of-duty deaths during the year.

The number of attacks is also increasing

According to an FBI study, 79,091 police officers were assaulted in 2023, representing the highest rate of assaults on police officers in the past 10 years. Most assaults on police officers occurred while responding to simple assaults on a non-police officer (6,783 incidents), followed by drug/narcotics violations (4,879). The number of police officers attacked and injured with firearms has also increased over the years, reaching a 10-year high in 2023.

Profile of fallen officers

The majority of the police officers who died were men, with an average age of 45. They had generally served in the police force for around 15 years. Many of these officers also left behind two children.

A look at 2024

To date, the Officer Down Memorial Page has recorded 89 line-of-duty deaths across the country, 35 of which were caused by gunfire.

So far, total line-of-duty deaths for 2024 have decreased by 1%, and firearm deaths have decreased by 8%. However, car accident deaths have increased by 67% so far for 2024.

In the past five years, 1,849 police officers have died in the line of duty, including 2,745 in the past 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:

• Master Patrol Officer Clarence Lamar Williams II (Cairo Police Department) – Died of a service-connected illness on January 28, 2023.
• Deputy Sheriff Tyee Michael Browne (Crisp County Sheriff's Office) – Killed by gunfire on July 5, 2023.
• Sheriff Robert Daniel Rodgers (Wilcox County Sheriff's Office) – died in a car accident on August 29, 2023.
• Correctional Officer Robert Danforth Clark (Georgia Department of Corrections) – killed in an attack on October 1, 2023.
• Sergeant Marc Andrew McIntyre (Spalding County Sheriff's Office) – Killed by gunfire on December 29, 2023.
• Deputy Eric Anthony Minix (Coweta County Sheriff's Office) – Struck by a vehicle on January 4, 2024.
• Trooper Jimmy Cenescar (Georgia State Patrol) – died on January 28, 2024 in a car accident.
• Deputy Sheriff Timothy Tavarus Rivers (Crawford County Sheriff's Office) – died in a car accident on February 6, 2024.
• Trooper First Class Chase Winston Redner (Georgia State Patrol) – Struck by a vehicle on February 20, 2024.
• Deputy Brandon Cunningham (Paulding County Sheriff's Office) – Killed by gunfire on August 17, 2024
• Deputy Taylor Bristow (Carroll County Sheriff's Office) – Shot on August 20, 2024. Died days later in the hospital.