End of Watch Report July 2020

 

Across the country, a total of 30 officers died in the line of duty in July 2020.  Of those thirty deaths, five were the result of gunfire and four were auto-related (one motorcycle crash, one vehicular assault, and two struck by vehicle).  Of the twenty one remaining deaths, two officers drowned and nineteen officers died as a result of COVID-19.

At the end of July, the year-to-date total of line of duty deaths is at 151, a 68% increase over the same time last year.

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 July 2020.  We encourage our supporters to read their memorials and share this information to raise awareness of line of duty deaths in the United States.

 

Police Officer Jason Judd

Peoria Police Department (AZ) 

 

Parole Officer IV Joseph William Lange

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Parole Division (TX) 

 

Sergeant Kelvin Dewayne Mixon

Edwards Police Department (MS) 

 

Chief Deputy Lee R. Weber

Hughes County Sheriff's Office (SD)

 

Police Officer Anthony Dia

Toledo Police Department (OH) 

 

 

Corrections Officer Kenneth Harbin

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division (TX)  

 

Captain Glenn Allen Green

Pike County Sheriff's Office (MS) 

 

Officer Alfonso H. Murrieta

U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection (U.S. Gov't) 

 

 

Lieutenant Bobby Almager

Corpus Christi International Airport Department of Public Safety (TX) 

 

Police Officer Edelmiro Garza, Jr.

McAllen Police Department (TX) 

 

Police Officer Ismael Chavez

McAllen Police Department (TX) 

 

Border Patrol Agent Enrique J. Rositas, Jr.

U.S. Dept of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - U.S. Border Patrol (U.S. Govt) 

 

Officer Roel De La Fuente

U.S. Dept of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Office of Field Operations (U.S. Govt) 

 

Police Officer Jonathan Shoop

Bothell Police Department (WA) 

 

 

Investigator Donald K. Sumner

Patton State Hospital Police (CA) 

 

Director N. Kyle Coleman

Bexar County Fire Marshal's Office (TX) 

 

Corrections Officer V Jerry Esparza

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division (TX) 

 

Master Sergeant Henry Turner

Louisiana Department of Corrections (LA) 

 

Deputy Sheriff William Garner

Franklin County Sheriff's Office (GA) 

 

Corrections Officer IV Jackson Pongay

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division (TX) 

 

Deputy Sheriff William K. Nichols

DeSoto County Sheriff's Office (MS)

 

 

Deputy Sheriff Oscar W. Rocha

Alameda County Sheriff's Office (CA)

 

 Border Patrol Agent Agustin Aguilar, Jr.

U.S. Dept of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - U.S. Border Patrol (U.S. Govt)

 

Investigator Mark Brown

Harris County Constable's Office - Precinct 5 (TX) 

Sergeant Corey Pendergrass

Lauderhill Police Department (FL)

Deputy Sheriff Dylan Pickle

Monroe County Sheriff's Office (MS)

Corrections Officer IV Ruben Martinez

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division (TX)

Corrections Officer V Eric Johnson

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division (TX)

 

 

Special Agent John Bost III

U.S. Dept of Justice - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (U.S. Govt)

 

 Trooper Caleb Starr

Michigan State Police (MI)

Master Detention Deputy Richard Barry

Lake County Sheriff's Office (FL)

Captain Steven M. Gaudet, Jr.

Pearl River Police Department (LA)

Lieutenant Erik K. Lloyd

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (NV)

The last three officers' line of duty deaths listed above were confirmed after the creation of the July 2020 infograph at the top of this post and as such, are not yet included in the statistics for July 2020.

End of Watch Report December 2017

In the final month of 2017, seven law enforcement officers gave their lives in the line of duty in the United States.  This brings the total for 2017 to 125 line of duty deaths.

Of the seven officers who died in December 2017, three died as a result of felonious gunfire, three died in auto-related incidents (one struck by vehicle, one automobile crash, and one vehicular assault), and one officer died as the result of a heart attack.

At the end of 2017, the total number of LODDs stood at 125, the lowest national annual total since 1958.

The Officer Down Memorial Page extends our deepest condolences to the families, friends, anda gencies who lost a loved one to a line of duty death in December 2017.

Please take a moment to read their memorials and Remember the Fallen:

Police Officer Kenneth Copeland
San Marcos Police Department (TX)

Police Officer Donald O. Kimbrough
Detroit Police Department (MI)

Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Sander Cohen
Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal (MD)

Corporal James Eric Chapman
Johnston Police Department (SC)



 

Police Officer Paul Lazinsky
El Mirage Police Department (AZ)

Officer Andrew J. Camilleri, Sr.
California Highway Patrol (CA)

Deputy Sheriff Zackari Parrish III
Douglas County Sheriff's Office (CO)

Fire Marshals: Straddling the Line Between Detective and Firefighter

Fire Marshal Ronald Bucca

As the World Trade Center towers burned, hundreds of law enforcement officers and firefighters rushed into them in an effort to save the thousands of citizens inside. One of those men was Fire Marshal Ronald Bucca.

Although he worked for the New York City Fire Department, Fire Marshal Bucca was actually an armed law enforcement officer, tasked with investigating very serious and deadly crimes involving arson and explosives.

Depending on the jurisdiction, law enforcement fire marshals have been around for quite a long time. I remember my first encounter with one when I was an Explorer for the Fairfax City Police Department in Virginia in the early 1990s. I was assisting with crowd control and other Explorer-duties during the city's annual 4th of July Fireworks display when I met the local fire marshal. I was surprised to learn that he was allowed to carry a gun and wear a vest, but I was even more surprised to learn he was supposed to keep them both in his trunk unless he really needed them (even as a teenager I couldn't find the logic in that!)

But how times have changed. No longer are fire marshals in Fairfax required to keep their guns and vests tucked away in their trunks. That same trend of legitimizing their law enforcement status is taking off around the country as they fulfill a critical - and very specialized - role within the greater law enforcement field, and that role doesn't come without sacrifice.

Unfortunately, Fire Marshal Bucca never came back out of the World Trade Center. He became the first law enforcement fire marshal to be killed in the line of duty in the United States when the towers collapsed. Since his death, only one other law enforcement fire marshal has been killed in the line of duty: Staff Chief Bryan Zollner, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, was killed in an automobile accident while en route to an out-of-state meeting.

The next time you see one of your local law enforcement fire marshals stop them and thank them for what they do. Although it's not a "traditional" law enforcement job, it's one that is not without risk.