Officer Down
A compelling look into the stark realities faced by rural police officers through a rigorous five-year data collection effort
A recent spate of LODDs requires immediate action against the rising incivility, failed criminal justice reforms and the mental health crisis that endanger police officers’ lives
Saving a Hero’s Place Collaborates with museum to memorialize 23,785 officers lost in the line of duty
‘You will never be forgotten’: Fallen LEOs honored at 2024 National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service
“Being a police officer is not just what you do, it’s who you are…” President Joe Biden said. “…this extended family [of other law enforcement officers] will always be here for you.”
“We lost the future of our family,” Ruge’s mother said. “I just didn’t lose my 27-year-old son, I lost my 37-year-old son and my 47-year-old son and my 57-year-old son. I lost the kids that he was going to have... I lost all of that”
Several members of Deputy Greg McCowan’s shift at the Blount County Sheriff’s Office attended Cayden McCowan’s graduation ceremony in support
Officer Jacob Derbin, 23, had served with the Euclid Police Department for less than a year
Assistant Chief Kevin Palmer, a U.S. Air Force veteran, has served at the North Richland Hills Police Department since 2004
The Santaquin Police Department officer killed in the incident has been identified as Sgt. Bill Hooser, a “top notch officer” who died “doing what he loved”
The driver fled a traffic stop before turning around, driving the wrong way on a freeway and ramming two cruisers and an officer, who died at the scene
“Trooper [Marcellus E.] Bethea...embodied Honor, Duty, and Fidelity in its highest form every day and in everything he did,” Gov. Phil Murphy stated
Lt. James Waller, a 22-year veteran of the Conroe Police Department, died at a hospital where he was taken after the tornado struck his home
“He was the best man I will ever know. And I hope to be just like him,” Theo James Elliott wrote about his father, N.C. Department of Adult Correction Investigator William “Alden” Elliott
The suspect was taken into custody with the handcuffs that belonged to Huesca
“I’ve got shots fired and an officer down,” a marshal can be heard saying over police radio. “Multiple rounds are being fired at officers”
“They’re heroes because they face dangers that most humans should not have to face,” Chief Johnny Jennings said. “And they accept that danger. And not a single one of them backed away from that challenge...”
“We saw ... officers going in to the line of fire to save their brothers in blue, who have gone down in the act of trying to keep our community safe,” Chief Jennings said
Deputy Jonathan Stewart, 41, had been with the LASD since 2006, starting his career as a custody assistant and later serving as a field training officer
The truck failed to yield and struck Officer Russell Croxton’s marked patrol vehicle and another vehicle
“The wealth of knowledge that [Sgt. Ian Taylor] brought to the Billerica Police Department was boundless...” Billerica police stated. “Ian dedicated his life to helping others and saved countless lives in the process”
Eight police officers were recognized at the nonprofit Stop DUI advocacy group’s Heroes and Handcuffs ceremony for making a combined 588 DUI arrests in 2023
Patrick McDowell pleaded guilty to the shooting death of Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers at a traffic stop in 2021
The man’s vehicle slammed into Officer James Muhlbauer’s patrol car, killing him and his K-9 partner Champ; the impact caused the cruiser to strike and kill Jesse Eckes, a pedestrian
Corpus Christi Officer Kyle Hicks was shot while responding to reports of gunfire; his assailant was fatally shot by other officers at the scene
Gov. Kathy Hochul dispatched the state police to provide event security after the agencies touched by the loss of two officers expressed concerns about being able to provide adequate coverage
Deputy John Coddou, 50, was a 20-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and “a public servant through and through”
“Officer Huesca was a kind spirit who cared deeply for his family, friends, and our city...” Superintendent Larry Snelling stated. "... It’s clear he has left behind a legacy of empathy and professionalism”
No arrests have been made and no motive has been released in the fatal shooting of Huesca, who was off-duty but in uniform at the time of the incident
Deputy Alfredo “Freddy” Flores, a 22-year veteran well-respected within the department, succumbed to third-degree burns he suffered in the Oct. 2023 incident
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