By Suzie Ziegler
WASHINGTON — A multi-agency analysis released Tuesday asserts that COVID-19 was the single highest cause of line-of-duty deaths between March and July 2020.
According to the analysis, based on data from the Officer Down Memorial Page, COVID-19 caused 50% or more of all LODDs in 13 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
The analysis was a partnership between the National Police Foundation and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) through the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC).
A publication by CRI-TAC shows some of the data’s major takeaways.
Texas was the state with the most COVID-19 LODDs, followed by Illinois and a four-way tie for third comprised of California, Florida, Louisiana and New Jersey.
By age group, officers in the 50-59 range were the most affected, accounting for 46% of COVID-19 LODDs.
Within the analyzed time frame, April was the deadliest month and accounted for 37% of the deaths.
Law enforcement agencies are encouraged to submit their COVID-19 data to the NPF here to help researchers better understand the virus’ impact on law enforcement, according to the release.
Real-time data can be viewed through the NPF’s COVID-19 Law Enforcement Impact Dashboard that was launched in March. The dashboard monitors workforce impacts, the number of diagnoses and personal protective equipment needs.