A new annual report has revealed a significant and welcome decline in the number of law enforcement officers killed while on duty in the United States. The data shows fatalities fell by nearly 25% in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Sharp Decline Across All Categories
The report, compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and shared with The Associated Press ahead of its official release on Tuesday 6 January 2026, details a drop across all major categories. The total number of on-duty deaths fell from 148 in 2024 to 111 in 2025.
Particularly striking is the decrease in firearm-related fatalities. These incidents dropped to 44 last year, a 15% reduction from 52 in 2024. According to the Fund's historical data, this marks the lowest number of officers killed by gunfire in at least a decade.
"I always like to see that firearms deaths are down. They are the tip of the spear for egregious acts," said Bill Alexander, the chief executive officer of the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit.
Traffic Deaths Drop Amid Safety Push
The report also highlights a substantial 23% decrease in traffic-related officer deaths between 2024 and 2025. This category includes fatal accidents and incidents where officers were struck by vehicles, often during traffic stops.
Alexander suggested this improvement is likely linked to a heightened national focus on officer safety on the roads. "More states around the country have passed 'move-over' laws," he noted, referring to legislation requiring drivers to change lanes when passing emergency stops. Increased training directing officers to approach vehicles from the passenger side, thereby keeping them out of active traffic lanes, has also contributed.
"Even one officer fatality is too many, and our ultimate goal is to have none. But we’re heartened by any decrease in those numbers," Alexander stated.
Reasons for Firearm Drop Less Clear
While the trend in traffic deaths has identifiable causes, the reasons behind the fall in firearm fatalities are more complex. Alexander acknowledged that while improved safety training and better medical equipment for gunshot wounds have played a part, other factors are harder to quantify.
"Some of it could come down to an officer being shot close to a hospital or maybe the officers had a tactical emergency kit or better blood-stopping equipment," he explained. He also cautioned that fewer deaths do not necessarily mean fewer shootings, a point underscored by separate data from the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).
The FOP's 2025 report, released this week, showed a slight increase in the number of officers shot while on duty, rising from 342 in 2024 to 347 last year. These figures include both fatal and non-fatal shootings.
The human cost behind the statistics was felt in high-profile tragedies such as the death of West York Borough Police Officer Andrew Duarte, killed in February 2025 while responding to a hostage situation in a Pennsylvania hospital. Similarly, Delaware State Trooper Matthew "Ty" Snook was shot and killed in late December while protecting a DMV employee from a gunman.
Broader Trends and Reporting Changes
The Memorial Fund's report contained further positive indicators. It showed no on-duty fatalities in 17 states and Washington D.C. in 2025, and none within federal or tribal law enforcement agencies.
Fatalities classified as "other"—which include physical or medical issues from on-duty incidents, stabbings, drownings, and crashes—plummeted by 37%, from 52 to 33. This figure includes 14 officers who died in 2025 from illnesses linked to responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks over two decades ago.
Alexander clarified that COVID-19 deaths, which significantly inflated numbers in 2020 and 2021, have not been counted as on-duty fatalities for the past two years. The report also continues to exclude officer suicides, though Alexander confirmed the group is discussing how to appropriately honour those losses.
