When you think of police officers dying in the line of duty, you probably think of them chasing down a criminal and being shot or getting run over by a getaway car. So far this year, 356 law-enforcement officers across the country have died in what have been classified as line-of-duty deaths. But just 49 of them died by gunfire and 16 by vehicles. These are relatively small numbers compared to the 228 officers who died from COVID-19, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, an online tribute to officers compiled by a nonprofit dedicated to giving the public the chance to “remember the fallen and honor their sacrifices.” But this year, COVID-19 has turned that mission on its head. For is it really a “sacrifice” to die because you turned down a life-saving vaccination against an airborne-spread illness? The memorial page notes that the coronavirus is the No. 1 killer of law-enforcement officers this year. “Getting vaccinated is just as important as wearing your vest and your seat belt,” it says. “Don’t wait any longer, please consult your doctor to see if vaccination is right for you.” And yet, sadly, officers have been hesitant, and it has led to their preventable, premature deaths – and no telling how many other deaths of those they encountered on the job.
The chronologically listed deaths of the officers tell the story. In January, a month when COVID-19 vaccinations were just becoming available, 54 law-enforcement officers died in the line of duty, with 38 of those deaths due to COVID. These officers likely died from COVID before they could get the vaccine that would save their lives. Same thing goes with some of the 20 officers who died from COVID in February. But from March to June, the life-saving effects of the vaccine were becoming apparent in the officer mortality rates. For the first time this year, officers were more likely to die for some other reason than a COVID illness during those four months. COVID killed a steady six officers per month, accounting for three out of every 10 officer deaths. Then the more deadly, and easier-spread delta variant of the virus took hold. By July, COVID was the predominant killer of law-enforcement officers again. And in August and September, it became rare for officers to die of anything else but COVID-19. The deadliest month of this year, August, had 64 COVID deaths, compared to 13 from all other causes. September’s COVID deaths were 62 out of the 70 total law-enforcement officer deaths. Where these COVID deaths were happening told another story. The states with the highest death count of COVID-stricken officers this year are Texas (67), Florida (37) and Georgia (30). These are states run by governments that continually classified vaccines as a matter of “personal choice,” rather than a public-health obligation. California, the most populous state, has registered 20 deaths. And New York, with a population slightly less than Florida, had just six. There was an August week when five officers in South Florida died of COVID. That is similar to the yearly officer death tolls in Pennsylvania (4), Illinois (6) and Michigan (4). The City of West Palm Beach lost two officers to COVID during the past couple months. The most recent one, Anthony Testa, was just 36 years old.