DALLAS — According to preliminary data compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), in 2021, there were 84 law enforcement deaths in Texas — the most of any state in the nation. Notably, 71 of those line of duty deaths in Texas were because of complications from COVID-19 related illness.
COVID-19 has been the leading cause of death for federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement the last two years running. NLEOMF’s report states COVID-19-related law enforcement fatalities increased 65% over this time last year.
Of the 295 officers who died in the line of duty in 2020, 182 were COVID-19-related. That number rose to 458 in 2021, and COVID contributed to 301 of those deaths. This is the most line of duty officer fatalities since 1930. Of the 458 preliminary law enforcement line of duty deaths in 2021, firearms-related fatalities are the second leading cause of law enforcement deaths. These deaths represent a 38% increase since 2020. There were 58 officers killed in traffic-related incidents in 2021, compared to 42 in 2020, a 38% increase. Of particular concern for law enforcement, the report states, is the sharp increase in struck-by incidents, where a vehicle hits an officer while outside of a patrol vehicle. This was the leading circumstance for traffic-related officer fatalities in 2021, representing an increase of 93% since 2020.
Troy Anderson, NLEOMF’s executive director of officer safety and wellness, says these figures should cause everyone to pause, most notably the high number of officers lost to COVID-19. Anderson has previous experience in the field during the pandemic, and recently retired from law enforcement in the last year.
“We need to be aware that [the virus] is a very, very real threat to our law enforcement officers, not just in Texas but nationally. Every man and woman that puts on a uniform and goes out there every day is going to have, at some point, exposure to this virus. I was out I was out there doing that, so I can understand what that’s like to be out there working in that environment,” Anderson said. “Take action every day and go home at the end of every shift to your families because that’s what you deserve.”
Anderson says there’s a stringent format they follow to certify that officers contracted the virus in the line of duty, and the virus has had a tremendous impact on LEOs nationwide.
“It’s a multifaceted program to make sure that, just as you said, that an officer wasn’t on vacation for the previous month and then he came back and then he became ill, where there’s a potential that he could have contracted at somewhere else. What we are looking at specifically is to ensure and have somebody sign off — a medical examiner, a doctor signing off. That said that it is more likely than not that law enforcement officer contracted the COVID-19 virus while in the performance of their official duties in a law enforcement capacity,” Anderson said. “When you’re looking at 301 law enforcement officers that died from contracting COVID-19, I think that really speaks volumes.”
The report shows law enforcement officers across the nation continue to be exposed to COVID-19 in their daily assignments, and “the number of line of duty deaths is sadly ever-increasing.” Anderson says many times, law enforcement doesn’t have the luxury of not responding to a call they get dispatched to, and sometimes doesn’t have the time to put on personal protective equipment before showing up to a car crash or another emergency. Anderson says if possible, 911 dispatchers should ask questions about potential for COVID exposure to officers while gathering information on emergencies.
“Any law enforcement death is a tragic death, and it’s also a loss, not just for the agency and not just for the family, but for the entire community. Law enforcement members are a part of that community. Their children go to schools in the community, they live in the communities in which they serve in most cases. So it’s a tragic loss, and it has a kind of a far-reaching effect,” Anderson said. “Very often they’re responding in a very timely way to hot emergencies, hot calls. They don’t know necessarily who may or may not be affected with the COVID-19 virus. Very often they don’t have all of the information and there are people that have the COVID-19 virus that are unaware that they’re carrying the COVID-19 virus. So it’s particularly difficult for first responders that are that are showing up to the scenes, not having all that information. It’s very, very difficult.”
The NLEOMF, Anderson says, believes in science and vaccines, but also that every law enforcement officer “wants information.” He says it’s a very close knit community that is “leery” of information coming at them from all sides. He suggests officers take extra time to meet with their health care practitioner one on one for information on vaccines and whether it would be appropriate for them to take.
“I think that having that conversation is very important, especially when it seems that the information is sort of ever changing. It’s very fluid. I think law enforcement want to be armed with information in everything that they do. You know, but this is a very science-based issue and they need to go to the right people to get that,” Anderson said. “That does mean taking that extra step to make sure that you are well and make that appointment with your health care practitioner to sit down and have that very real conversation about ‘Is this the right decision for me to make?’ And I think that’s the right place to have that discussion. And then take action.”
For Anderson, he wants to see fewer officer names on the Memorial walls outside the door of his office in Washington, D.C.
“We all need to pause and should we talk about it. You bet we should. We should be talking about every step that we can to keep names off of the wall and make this job safer for the men and women that do this job. That’s what we should all be doing. And I’m not talking just as a vocation, not as a police administrator or just rank-and-file folks, I’m talking about as a nation.”
In the small town of Double Oak, Texas, two officers died within days of each other because of complications from COVID-19. Double Oak Police Chief Ruben Rivas says the deaths of Officer John Mestas and Officer Lonnie Sneed have shaken his department. Blue ribbons tied to trees and a flag flying at half staff outside the Double Oak Town Hall are visual reminders to this small community that two of their own have passed. These are Double Oak’s first and second line of duty deaths in history, Rivas said.
“It hurts the town just as much as it hurts the department,” Rivas said. “We check up on the officers to make sure they’re doing okay. And of course, when they passed, we called each one of them and notified them of the passing. And, you know, there were sad moments and cry moments. We’re here for each other. We lean on each other.“
Officer Mestas had only been with the department three months, while Officer Sneed had spent over five years there. Rivas said there was hope that Sneed would recover and go to a rehab facility. However, he took a turn for the worse and they got the call he had passed.
“We prepared ourselves mentally for it. But you think you’re prepared, until it happens, then it is like a shock,” Rivas said.
At just six patrol spots total, the department has lost half its team in February to COVID and a relocation. Chief Rivas says everyone has to work overtime to pick up extra coverage and noted that other agencies like Highland Village, Bartonville, Flower Mound, and Argyle have offered their help. He says even agencies in Denton County have asked to send officers down to help with coverage, which has helped tremendously.
“We’re gonna miss both of them. But it’s something you have to deal with and being so shorthanded, we also have to put more on the patrol officers because ‘Hey, you have to do overtime, we have no coverage, you got to fill in where you can.’ So it’s a little bit more stress on them and their families because they’re gonna be here more often, but they’re team players and they’re willing to do what needs to be done to get the job done,” Rivas said. “They’re not complaining. They know what we have to do and we have to do our part.”
Rivas says time will help heal the department. There is a GoFundMe* posted to help the officers’ families.
“We’ll be providing counseling for officers who’s willing to speak with somebody. Hopefully that helps them out and we know in time, we’ll never forget these officers and we’ll be okay.”
*This GoFundMe.com site is not managed by Spectrum News 1 Texas. For more information on how the site works and the rules, visit gofundme.com/safety.