Latest NLEOMF Research Bulletin

2009 Officer Fatality Report 

A Tale of Two Trends: Overall Fatalities Fall, Fatal Shootings Rise

2009 was a tale of two trends in law enforcement fatalities in the United States.

Preliminary data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund show that officer deaths declined 6 percent, from 133 in 2008 to 125 in 2009. That is the fewest line-of-duty deaths since 1959, when there were 108.

However, the number of officers shot and killed surged 26 percent, from 39 in 2008 to 49 in 2009. More than 30 percent of this year’s shooting fatalities—15 in all—occurred in five separate incidents in which more than one officer was gunned down by a single offender.

2009 End of Year Fatality Report

Recent Research Bulletins

• Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: Final 2009 Report
  
  
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