Records show 111 law enforcement officers lost their lives in the line of duty nationwide in 2025 — a 25% decrease from the year before.
It is a historic low, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, reporting that the last time fatalities were at a comparable amount was in 1943, when 94 officers lost their lives.
“Each of the 111 fatalities we publish in this report represents a selfless sacrifice made on behalf of the community and the nation in which they serve,” National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund CEO Bill Alexander said in a press release. “We lament to document even a single such death, but this encouraging downward trend in fatalities likely reflects the continued adoption of proven best practices by police, sheriff, and corrections agencies, as well as a growing emphasis on the physical and psychological health of the men and women who work to keep our communities safe.”
During National Police Week this year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah recognized the lives of officer Eric Estrada and Sgt. Lee Sorenson, members of the Tremonton-Garland Police Department who were killed last year responding to a domestic violence call.
“Officers go out every day on various calls, and they just don’t know what danger that is waiting for them,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak told the Deseret News. “They have that noble calling to respond to those with bravery and courage.”
Every year, the attorneys in Holyoak’s office will nominate members of law enforcement spanning local, state, tribal and federal agencies, to be recognized for their work in prosecution and investigation.
Recipients this year ranged from officers who worked to combat bank robberies to those who worked on child exploitation cases.
A national week of remembrance, President John F. Kennedy designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week it falls in as Police Week in 1962 to honor the sacrifice of those who lost their lives protecting Americans.
Police week gets political
Donald Trump’s White House also commemorated law enforcement this week, arguing that the Republican administration boosted morale in the profession after “four years of Democrats’ war on police” under former President Joe Biden.
“America honors the brave men and women of law enforcement who risk their lives daily to protect our communities,” per the White House press release. “Under President Donald J. Trump, these heroes are respected, empowered, and supported — not defunded, demonized, or betrayed by the Radical Left."
House Republicans also posted on social media that “‘Defund the police’ was the worst public safety idea in a generation. Crime surged. Officers quit. Families paid the price.”
During a candlelight vigil on Tuesday on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said, “To the families of those fallen heroes and those who continue to stand guard in our communities: we have your back. We’ll continue to advance policies here that support law enforcement and bring justice to those who seek to harm officers.”
Johnson told "Fox & Friends’" Griff Jenkins that the Police Week memorial Congress holds annually is one of the only events “that draws Congress together.”
But Jenkins told “Fox & Friends” that during the event, he could not identify a single Democratic congressperson at the vigil.
On Wednesday, 173 House Democrats voted alongside their Minority Leader, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, against a resolution expressing support for law enforcement and appreciation for their sacrifices.
Though the resolution ultimately passed, its sponsor, Iowa Rep. Zach Nunn, told Fox News he thought it would have been unanimous.
“I think it unfortunately puts a real spotlight on a chasm we have between those who support law and order and those who are supporting those who undermine it,” he said, but added his appreciation for the bipartisan support he did gain from the 29 House Democrats who voted in favor of the resolution.
“We are at a 125-year low for murder rates, 10-year low for drug overdoses,” Nunn said. “These are things that good community policing, that our law enforcement officers are doing every day, have had a really positive impact.”