How many police officers die in the line of duty?
In 2025, 81 officers died while on duty. Of those deaths, 65% were purposeful killings, and 35% were accidental.
In 2025, 81 officers died in the line of duty, according to the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report. Fifty-three were killed feloniously, primarily by firearms.
Since the FBI began collecting data on officer deaths in 1996, annual deaths have ranged from a low of 76 in 2013 to a high of 146 in 2001. There were 26 fewer officer deaths in 2025 than in 2024.
Officer deaths have dropped nearly 25% since 2024.
Total law enforcement deaths in the line of duty, 1996–2025
Despite the number of officers who die while on duty, law enforcement does not rank in the top 10 deadliest professions in the US, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
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How does the FBI categorize police officer deaths?
The FBI collects data on the assaults and deaths of on-the-job officers, categorizing them as either felonious or accidental.
“Felonious killing” is an official term describing an incident in which an officer is fatally injured as a direct result of an intentional act (e.g., being shot at). An accidental killing is a fatal injury after an unintentional incident or negligence (e.g., being struck by a passing car).
Neither category includes suicides or work-related exposures that may lead to illness or death (e.g., deaths due to COVID-19 or 9/11-related illnesses).
What is the top cause of death for police officers on duty?
In 2025, felonious killings accounted for 53 of the 81 officer deaths. Among those, 81.1% had gunshot wounds, and 47% followed unlawful or suspicious activity or occurred during a traffic stop.
Accidental police officer deaths — 28 of the 81 officer deaths in 2025 — have dropped since 2011. Before 2011, there was an average of 70 accidental deaths each year. Since 2011, the average has been 46.
Accidental deaths have decreased 46.3% in the last decade.
Total law enforcement deaths in the line of duty by type of incident, 1996–2025
Twenty-eight officers were accidentally killed in 2025. Twenty-two of those deaths (79% of accidental deaths) came from motor-vehicle-related causes.
Another common cause of accidental death is exiting a vehicle on a roadway. In 2025, nearly four in 10 accidental officer deaths happened when the officer was struck by a vehicle outside their patrol car.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends situational awareness, working within a temporary traffic control zone, avoiding the gap between vehicles, and approaching vehicles on the passenger side during stops to reduce the likelihood of incident.
Where are the most police officers killed in the line of duty?
The South lost 32 on-duty officers, about 50% more than any other region. The South — made of 16 states and Washington, DC — is also the region with the most employed officers, most law enforcement agencies, and largest population.
The West had the second-highest number of deaths at 21. The Midwest had 18 deaths, and the Northeast had seven. One officer was killed in US territories and two were in “other” geographies.
Officer deaths decreased in the South, Midwest, and Northeast from 2024 to 2025 but rose in the West.
More police officers died in the line of duty in the South region than any other.
Total law enforcement deaths in the line of duty, by region, 2025
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