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Tag: line of duty death

  • Report shows 80-year low in law enforcement deaths – WTOP News

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    The number of law enforcement professionals nationwide who died in 2025 is the lowest in 80 years, according to Bill Alexander, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

    FILE – A photo of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in D.C.(WTOP/Luke Lukert)

    Fewer names will need to be engraved this year into Northwest D.C.’s National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

    The number of law enforcement professionals nationwide who died in 2025 is the lowest in 80 years, according to Bill Alexander, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

    “One death is too many, but 111 men and women died in the line of duty for calendar year 2025,” Alexander said. “The report is certainly encouraging, by virtue of the fact that it’s about a 25% drop from the deaths that we reported in 2024.”

    The last time annual officer deaths were at a comparable level was in 1943, when 94 officers were killed in the line of duty.

    Firearms-related deaths claimed the lives of 44 officers in 2025, a decrease of 15% from 2024: “It means some opposing party had a firearm and was using it with the intent and purpose to kill a police officer,” Alexander said. “There’s another word for that — murder.”

    Alexander said improvements in technology is helping “the hundreds of men and women in uniform who are shot every single year.”

    Bulletproof vests have “gotten better and lighter and more malleable, which leads to circumstances where officers are more likely to wear it because it is thinner and lighter, and has a greater stopping force.”

    In addition, Alexander said more officers are receiving medical training and equipment.

    “When an officer is shot, more likely than not the first person on the scene are going to be fellow officers, and they’re, in many cases, providing the first-tier first response,” Alexander said. “And I’m convinced that’s helping to save lives on that front.”

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • ‘High angle’ rescue instructor falls to his death as students watch, TN cops say

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    Advance EMT instructor Fred Kemp was surrounded by fellow EMTs at the time, but their best efforts could not overcome his severe injuries, Washington County/Johnson City EMS said in an Oct. 23 news release.

    Advance EMT instructor Fred Kemp was surrounded by fellow EMTs at the time, but their best efforts could not overcome his severe injuries, Washington County/Johnson City EMS said in an Oct. 23 news release.

    Screengrab Washington County/Johnson City EMS Honor Guard Facebook post.

    A high-angle rescue class turned horrific for students when the instructor suddenly plummeted to his death near a mountain waterfall, according to investigators in the mountains of northeast Tennessee.

    Advanced EMT instructor Fred Kemp was surrounded by fellow EMTs at the time, but their efforts could not overcome his traumatic injuries, Washington County/Johnson City EMS said in an Oct. 23 news release.

    It happened Wednesday, Oct. 22, and a cause of death has not been released. Kemp worked with the department 28 years, and his wife is also an EMT with the department, officials said.

    “EMS crews were conducting a scheduled high angle technical rescue training in the Blue Hole Falls area in Carter County,” EMS spokesman James Matthews said at the news conference.

    “During that exercise, Advanced EMT Kemp, who was serving as an instructor for the course, suffered a fall from a significant height. Other personnel taking part in the training, his peers, immediately rendered aid to Mr. Kemp, while requesting additional resources to help. Despite their best efforts, Mr. Kemp did not survive his injuries.”

    EMS officials have not revealed how far Kemp fell and or what rescue technique he was teaching at the time. Kemp was skilled in rope and swift water rescue techniques, officials said.

    The cause of the fall is being investigated by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration, WJHL reports.

    Blue Hole Falls is a series of waterfalls at the base of Holston Mountain, Carter Tennessee Tourism says.

    “Lidar data indicates a cumulative drop of approximately 50 feet over three steps of roughly equal size,” World Waterfall Database says. “A smaller fourth fall can be found about 150 feet further upstream from the top of the falls, but it looks to be separated by too much distance to be considered a congruent part of the falls.”

    The waterfall is about a 120-mile drive northeast from the main Tennessee entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

    Mark Price

    The Charlotte Observer

    Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.

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    Mark Price

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  • Fallen West Sacramento firefighter to be honored with procession, memorial service

    Fallen West Sacramento firefighter to be honored with procession, memorial service

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    A West Sacramento firefighter who died in the line of duty will be remembered Tuesday through a procession and memorial service. Watch the livestream in the video player below.The West Sacramento Fire Department, family, and loved ones of fire department engineer 59-year-old Timothy Hall are inviting the communities he served to pay their respects.Hall died during a regional training exercise, the city officials said. Hall was not injured during the training exercise, and his death is “more likely health-related,” according to the city.Hall started working with the West Sacramento Fire Department in 2006.Prior to that, Hall’s career in public service began as a volunteer firefighter with the Clarksburg Fire Protection District where he served the community for 41 years — concurrent with his 18 years working for the city of West Sacramento.A procession in Hall’s honor is set to depart from West Sacramento Fire Department Station 45 at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday.It is scheduled to stop at Clarksburg Fire Protection District Station 40 at 10 a.m.The procession is set to arrive at Creekside Church in Elk Grove at 10:45 a.m. and Hall’s memorial service is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.The service will also be livestreamed on the West Sacramento Fire Department Facebook page.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

    WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    A West Sacramento firefighter who died in the line of duty will be remembered Tuesday through a procession and memorial service.

    Watch the livestream in the video player below.

    This content is imported from YouTube.
    You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

    The West Sacramento Fire Department, family, and loved ones of fire department engineer 59-year-old Timothy Hall are inviting the communities he served to pay their respects.

    Hall died during a regional training exercise, the city officials said. Hall was not injured during the training exercise, and his death is “more likely health-related,” according to the city.

    Hall started working with the West Sacramento Fire Department in 2006.

    Prior to that, Hall’s career in public service began as a volunteer firefighter with the Clarksburg Fire Protection District where he served the community for 41 years — concurrent with his 18 years working for the city of West Sacramento.

    A procession in Hall’s honor is set to depart from West Sacramento Fire Department Station 45 at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday.

    It is scheduled to stop at Clarksburg Fire Protection District Station 40 at 10 a.m.

    The procession is set to arrive at Creekside Church in Elk Grove at 10:45 a.m. and Hall’s memorial service is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.

    The service will also be livestreamed on the West Sacramento Fire Department Facebook page.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

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