The latest data reveals a significant decline in fatalities among U.S. law enforcement officers in 2025, reaching a historic low not witnessed since the era of World War II.
According to the report released on Tuesday by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, the number of line-of-duty deaths decreased from 148 in 2024 to 111 in 2025, with reductions noted across all categories of fatalities.
This recent drop marks the lowest annual officer fatality count since 1943, a year when 94 officers lost their lives while serving.
Firearm-related deaths saw a 15% reduction, falling from 52 incidents in 2024 to 44 in 2025, marking the lowest figures in over ten years, based on the Fund’s data.
Mourners gathered for the funeral procession of West York Borough Police Officer Andrew Duarte at Living Word Community Church in Red Lion, Pa., on Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
“Seeing a decrease in firearm-related deaths is always encouraging. These represent the most extreme incidents,” remarked Bill Alexander, the Fund’s CEO, in a statement to The Associated Press. “While even one officer fatality is unacceptable, our ultimate aim is to reach zero. We are encouraged by any decline in these numbers.”
Traffic-related deaths fell nearly 23% year over year, according to the data.
An unidentified man participates in a Blue Lives Matter rally Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Alexander attributed the decline in fatalities from crashes and officers getting struck by vehicles during traffic stops to the growing attention to roadside safety. He said that the spread of “move-over” laws, and changes in policing tactics, such as encouraging officers to approach vehicles from the passenger side, have helped.
Fewer fatalities do not necessarily mean fewer officer shootings, he said.
The National Fraternal Order of Police tracks on-duty officer shootings, both fatal and nonfatal, though the data does not include incidents in which officers were fired upon but not hit.
Its 2025 report, released this week, showed a slight increase in officers shot on duty last year, rising from 342 in 2024 to 347 in 2025.
Police officers salute as other officers ride past on motorcycles in procession for a slain officer on Feb. 5, 2025. (KVVU)
Deaths in the report’s “other” category, which includes medical emergencies, stabbings, drownings, and aviation accidents, fell 37%, from 52 to 33. That total includes 14 officers who died from illnesses linked to their response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The report also excludes suicides, though Alexander said the organization is continuing discussions about how to recognize and honor those officers.
