A new report shows a 25% jump in officer line-of-duty deaths across the U.S. in 2024. With gun and traffic-related deaths driving the spike.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — A new report shows a troubling 25% increase in line-of-duty deaths across the United States in 2024 compared to 2023, leaving many officers asking why.
“It hurts when we lose one officer,” Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page said. “If we lose an officer in any part of North Carolina, it affects us.”
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 147 officers died in the line of duty in 2024. The report highlighted a 48% increase in traffic-related deaths and a 13% rise in deaths caused by firearms. However, the reasons behind these increases remain unclear.
“Behind every one of those numbers is a man or a woman that signed up to do a job that they genuinely love doing,” said Troy Anderson, the fund’s executive director of officer safety and wellness programs. “Is it training, is it equipment? Is it a combination thereof? And I think, you know, the one thing that anybody’s ever served in a law enforcement role will know is the term complacency. Kills. And I think, you know, as we look, if you’ve done one traffic stop, you’re gonna use all your training and experience to get through that successfully. When you’re on your 1,000th traffic stop, are you still approaching a vehicle the same way? Are you still utilizing the same safety equipment? I think that that would apply to any call, not just a traffic stop.”
North Carolina lost five officers in 2024, placing the state just outside the top five for line-of-duty deaths. The Southeast as a whole experienced a similar increase.
Sheriff Page said tougher penalties for attacks on officers could act as a deterrent.
“I think some of the offenders utilize a lot of firearms, and I think that not only should we increase penalties when firearms are used against our law enforcement officers and our first responders, but there also needs to be some high penalties in the court system,” Page said. “When someone tries to harm an officer, particularly, or worse, when an officer loses their life, that should carry a high penalty. Part of that is for deterrence, to prevent a person from taking such actions. Unfortunately, we still have criminal elements in America that don’t care.”
Page added that while officers work to gain the trust of the communities they serve, they also depend on those communities for support.
“Try to understand, we’ve got a tough job and not a lot of people will do this job,” he said. “But there are some brave men and women, they are the heroes in America, and I stand behind them, and I know a lot of our citizens stand behind us also, and that means a lot.”
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund said it is working on improving training and finding new ways to connect with communities to prevent further tragedies.
“The loss of any officer is too much,” Anderson said. “I look forward to the year that we put no names on that wall.”
In Greensboro, the community is preparing to honor Officer Michael Horan, who was shot and killed two days after Christmas. He’ll be laid to rest on Thursday at Westover Church in Greensboro.
Eventually, the fallen hero’s name will be added to the memorial for officers who have died in the line of duty in Guilford County outside of City Hall.
In May 2024, the city honored Sgt. Dale Nix, who died on December 30, 2023 by etching his name into the memorial. For many, Horan’s death brings an unwelcome sense of déjà vu.
Stay connected to local, national, and breaking news: Download the WFMY News 2 app.
►Text the word APP to 336-379-5775
MORE WAYS TO GET WFMY NEWS 2
Subscribe to our daily newsletter, Let’s Get 2 It!
Download the WFMY News 2 APP from your Apple or Google Play store.
ADD THE WFMY+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or search for WFMY.
Amazon Fire TV: Search for WFMY to find the free app to add to your account. You can also add the app directly to your Fire TV through your Amazon account.
