According to the National Fraternal Order of Police, COVID-19 has killed 21 police officers in the line of duty.
With the peak of the deadly virus still pending in many cities, there is concern in the profession that the worst is yet to come.
National Trainer, Travis Yates, tells us that with the nature of law enforcement and the inability of those in the profession to do what many Americans are able to do in the middle of this crisis to prevent exposure, line of duty deaths due to COVID-19 will likely surpass those we lost in 9/11.
“It is a tragic situation where for the first time in our history, the enemy we face is invisible and it one that quite frankly many in law enforcement feel extremely vulnerable to,” Yates told us.
The Officer Down Memorial Page has listed three officers to date that they have confirmed have been line of duty deaths but according to Yates many more are likely to be listed in the coming weeks.
“I implore every agency and every officer to document every action they take on duty. I cannot fathom anyone attempting to argue whether these tragedies occurred in the line of duty but similar to the aftermath of 9/11, we have to expect that in some locations, there will be a debate and that would be the ultimate travesty,” according to Yates.
In the coming days, we will be working on an exhaustive list of officers killed by COVID-19.
Broward County (FL) Deputy Sheriff Shannon Bennett
Riverside County (CA) Deputy Sheriff Terrell Young
Chicago (IL) Police Officer Marco DiFranco
Detroit (MI) Captain Jonathan Parnell
Santa Rosa (CA) Detective Marylou Armer