End of Watch Report May 2019

In May 2019, ten law enforcement officers in the United States died in the line of duty, bringing the yearly total to 47 line of duty deaths across the nation.  This is a 40% decrease as compared to the same time last year.

Of the ten officers who died in May, five of them died as the result of felonious gunfire.  Four died in automobile crashes. One died as the result of a heart attack.

The Officer Down Memorial Page extends our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and agencies who lost a loved one to a line of duty death in May 2019, and we ask that you take a moment to read each of their memorials and remember the fallen:

K9 Officer Jordan Harris Sheldon
Mooresville Police Department (NC)

Police Officer Robert McKeithen
Biloxi Police Department (MS)

Police Officer Anthony Neri
Sanibel Police Department (FL)

Trooper Matthew Elias Gatti
Tennessee Highway Patrol (TN)

Constable Willie Houston "Hoot" West
Lowndes County Constable Office (MS)

Sergeant Kelvin Ansari
Savannah Police Department (GA)

Police Officer William Buechner
Auburn Police Division (AL)

Police Officer Jesus Marrero-Martínez
Manatí Municipal Police Department (PR)

Lieutenant Joseph Johnson
Seminole Police Department (TR)

Lieutenant Steven Whitstine
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office (LA)

End of Watch Report March 2019

[image: Line of Duty Death report for March 2019 with a dark blue and gray background and blue and white text showing 8 line of duty deaths in March and 29 YTD, a 31% decrease from this time last year]

In March of 2019, eight law enforcement officers across the United States died in the line of duty, bringing the yearly total to 29 line of duty deaths in 2019.  This is a 31% decrease from the same time last year.  Of the eight line of duty deaths in March, four were the result of gunfire and four were auto-related (one auto crash and three officers struck by vehicles).

The Officer Down Memorial Page extends our sincere condolences to the families, friends, and agencies who lost a loved one to a line of duty death last month.  Please take a moment to read each of their memorials and remember the fallen.

Police Officer Nathan Hayden Heidelberg
Midland Police Department, TX

Deputy Sheriff Jacob Howard Keltner
McHenry County Sheriff's Office, IL

Corporal Daniel H. Groves
Colorado State Patrol, CO

Deputy Sheriff Ryan Shane Thompson
Kittitas County Sheriff's Office, WA

Police Officer Paul Thomas Rutherford
Phoenix Police Department, AZ

Deputy Sheriff Peter Herrera
El Paso County Sheriff's Office, TX

Trooper Brooke Jones-Story
Illinois State Police, IL

Trooper Gerald Wayne Ellis
Illinois State Police, IL

End of Watch Report February 2019

[Image: Line of Duty Death infograph showing 11 LODDs in February, a 12% decrease from last year at this time]

In February of 2019, there were a total of 11 line of duty deaths in the United States.  Of those 11 deaths, six were the result of felonious gunfire and one was the result of inadvertent gunfire.  The remaining five deaths were: one heart attack, one struck by vehicle, one auto crash, and one vehicular assault.

The total number of line of duty deaths for 2019 is 21 at the end of February, which represents a 12% decrease over this time last year.

The Officer Down Memorial Page extends our condolences to the families, friends, and agencies who lost a loved one to a line of duty death in February 2019. Please take a moment to read their memorials and remember the fallen.

Corporal Shane Totty
Baton Rouge Police Department (LA)


 

Detective William Lee Brewer
Clermont County Sheriff's Office (OH)

Border Patrol Agent Donna Doss
U.S. Dept of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol (U.S. Gov't)

Trooper Lucas Bartley Dowell
Virginia State Police (VA)

Police Officer Matthew Rittner
Milwaukee Police Department (WI)

Detective Brian Simonsen
New York City Police Department (NY)

Agent Alfred Zanyet-Pérez
Puerto Rico Police Department (PR)

Lieutenant Daniel Duane Hinton
Florida Highway Patrol (FL)

Undersheriff Monty Johnson
Pawnee County Sheriff's Office (OK)

Police Officer Nicholas Galinger
Chattanooga Police Department (TN)

Sergeant Steve Hinkle
Sullivan County Sheriff's Office (TN)

End Of Watch Report January 2019

[Image: Infograph showing 10 line of duty deaths in the U.S. in January 2019, an 11% increase over this time last year]

In January 2019, ten officers across the United States gave their lives in the line of duty.  Of those ten officers, four were killed in auto-related incidents (two struck by vehicle, one vehicular assault, one auto crash), four died as the result of felonious gunfire, and two died from heart attacks.  Nine of those officers were male and one was female.  January's LODD total is 11% higher than January of last year.

The Officer Down Memorial Page extends our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and agencies that lost a loved one to a line of duty death last month.  Please take a moment to read each of their memorials and remember the fallen.
 

Master Police Officer Joseph William Shinners
Provo Police Department, UT

Police Officer Dale James Woods
Colerain Township Police Department, OH

Police Officer Clayton Joel Townsend
Salt River Police Department, Tribal Police

Police Officer Natalie Becky Corona
Davis Police Department, CA

Trooper Christopher Lambert
Illinois State Police, IL

Sergeant WyTasha Lamar Carter
Birmingham Police Department, AL

Supervisory Deputy US Marshal Norman D. Merkel
U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Government
 

Deputy Sheriff Ray Elwin Horn III
Comal County Sheriff's Office, TX

Police Officer Sean Paul Tuder
Mobile Police Department, AL

Deputy Sheriff Joshua Bryan "LJ" Ryer, Jr.
Glascock County Sheriff's Office, GA

End of Watch Report December 2018

In the final month of 2018, a total of ten law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in the U.S., bringing the annual total to 148 fallen officers.  Of the ten officers who gave their lives in December, half were the result of auto-related incidents: one vehicle pursuit, one auto crash, one ATV crash, one vehicular assault, and one struck by vehicle.  Two officers died in December 2018 after being struck by a train.  The final three line of duty deaths last month were the result of gunfire.

At the end of 2018, line of duty deaths annually were up by 6% over 2017, but it should be noted that 2017 had the second lowest number of line of duty deaths in the last decade.  The 2018 LODD total is the second lowest annual total in the last five years, and the third lowest since 2010. We are hopeful that this downward trend continues.

The Officer Down Memorial Page offers our sincere condolences to the families, friends, and agencies who lost a loved one to a line of duty death in December 2018.  Please take a moment to read their memorials and remember the fallen:

Sergeant Matthew Troy Moreno
Las Animas County Sheriff's Office (CO)

Police Officer Jermaine Brown
Miami-Dade Police Department (FL)

Sergeant Benton Hurley Bertram
Charlestown Police Department (IN)

Police Officer Edgar Isidro Flores
DeKalb County Police Department (GA)

Police Officer Jason Quick
Lumberton Police Department (NC)

Police Officer Eduardo Marmolejo
Chicago Police Department (IL)

Police Officer Conrad Charles Gary
Chicago Police Department (IL)

Detective Deidre Irene Mengedoht
Louisville Metro Police Department (KY)

Corporal Ronil Singh
Newman Police Department (CA)

Police Officer II Michael Wayne Smith
Henry County Police Deparment (GA)