Line of duty death

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A mourning band on a firefighters' badge.

A line of duty death (LODD) is a death in the

police service
while on duty.

United States

Firefighting

See also: List of firefighters killed in the line of duty in the United States

The

volunteer firefighters, one was a civilian Defense Department employee, one was a state land management employee, and one was a federal land management agency employee.[1]

wildland fires), 19% died during non-fire emergencies, 19% died while responding to or returning from alarms, 10% died in training, and 25% died in other on-duty settings (such as performing ordinary fire station, administrative, or maintenance duties).[1]

Police

An analysis of FBI data published in 2019 in the

accidental gunfire declined over time, but deaths in car chases were stable, and deaths from vehicular assaults doubled.[2]

According to data compiled by the

terrorist attack.[3] Deaths in motor vehicle crashes or motor vehicle strikes represented about 43% of all police line-of-duty deaths over the period 2006 through 2019 (about 809 deaths); these are preventable injuries.[4]

In 2019, 48 law enforcement officers died in line-of-duty injuries from "felonious incidents" while 41 died in accidents.[5][6] Of the 48 deaths in felonious incidents, 15 were connected to "investigative/enforcement activities" (including traffic stops, investigations, and encounters with fugitives); 9 deaths were connected to "tactical situations" (such as barricade/hostage situations or service of search or arrest warrants); 5 officers died in unprovoked attacks; 4 officers died while responding to reports of crimes in progress; 3 officers died while in a car pursuits; 3 officers died while trying to make an arrest.[5] Of the 41 accidental deaths, 19 died in motor vehicle crashes, 16 were pedestrians struck by vehicles; 3 died in "firearm-related incidents"; and 2 officers drowned.[6]

More than 90% of homicides of U.S. law enforcement officers are caused by gunshot.[7] For example, in 2019, 44 of the 49 officers feloniously killed were killed by firearms.[5] A 2015 study published in the American Journal of Public Health, analyzing FBI data from 1996 to 2010, studied the link between firearm prevalence (measured by the mean household firearm ownership) and homicides of police officers using a Poisson regression. The study concluded that, when controlling for other variables, law enforcement homicide rates "were 3 times higher in states with high firearm ownership compared with states with low firearm ownership."[7]

A 2018

depression. The white paper called for de-stigmatization of mental health concerns among first responders (stating that "shame and stigma are arguably the strongest barriers that stand between first responders and mental health services") and more suicide prevention initiatives for first responders.[8]

United Kingdom

Further information: List of British police officers killed in the line of duty

Police line-of-duty deaths are far less common in Britain than in the United States. From 1900 to 2014, 249 British police officers died in the line of duty; adjusting for number of police officers, U.S. police line-of-duty deaths are 10 times higher than British police line-of-duty deaths.[9]

A comparison of police deaths in New York City and Greater London from 1900 through 1999 found that "both intentional and unintentional occupational police mortality rates were significantly greater in New York compared to London"; the study officers identified "socioeconomic, cultural, and occupational factors" (including the widespread prevalence of firearms in the U.S.) as the likely factors explaining the discrepancy.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Rita F. Fahy, Jay T. Petrillo and Joseph L. Molis, Firefighter Fatalities in the US – 2019, National Fire Protection Association (July 2020).
  2. ^ a b Michael D. White, Lisa M. Dario & John A. Shjarback, Assessing dangerousness in policing: An analysis of officer deaths in the United States, 1970–2016, Vol. 19, issue 1 (Feb. 2019), pp. 11-35.
  3. ^ Causes of Law Enforcement Deaths: Over the Past Decade (2010-2019), National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
  4. ^ Law Enforcement Officer Motor Vehicle Safety, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  5. ^
    Uniform Crime Report
    , Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  6. ^
    Uniform Crime Report
    , Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  7. ^ a b David I. Swedler, Molly M. Simmons, Francesca Dominici & David Hemenway, Firearm Prevalence and Homicides of Law Enforcement Officers in the United States, American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 105 (2015).
  8. ^ Miriam Heyman, Jeff Dill & Robert Douglas, The Ruderman White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders (April 2018).
  9. ^ Jay Livingston, Cops: Killing and Being Killed, Pacific Standard (April 16, 2015).
  10. ^ D N Kyriacou, E H Monkkonen, C Peek‐Asa, R E Lucke, S Labbett, K S Pearlman, and H R Hutson, Police deaths in New York and London during the twentieth century, Injury Prevention (August 2006), Vol. 12, issue 4, pp. 219–224.
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