Covid leading cause of death for American police during 2021

The number of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty across the U.S. last year totaled 458, a 55 percent increase from 2020, the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund said in a report released Tuesday.

Covid-19 was the leading cause of death, having killed 301 federal, state, tribal and local officers, the report said.

"It has been reported to NLEOMF that these officers have died due to direct exposure to the virus during the commission of their official duties," the report said. ...

In Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott banned all public and private entities from mandating vaccinations, 84 officers died from Covid-19, the most in the country. Florida (52) was next, followed by Georgia (39), California (24) and North Carolina (21). Eleven states and Washington, D.C., had no Covid-19 deaths, the report says.

The report doesn't say how many of the officers were vaccinated; police union officials from Chicago to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and New York City to Seattle have spoken out against vaccination mandates. New York City's largest police union told its members in September that it would take legal action to defend their "right to make such personal medical decisions." ...