(Mike Osborne) — Two years into the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to be the leading cause of death among Tennessee’s law enforcement officers.
Just over three months into 2022, the Officer Down Memorial Page shows four officers have died in the line of duty statewide. Two of those died of virus related complications. Only one was killed as a result of a criminal assault.
This past year was the worst in Tennessee history for law enforcement deaths. A total of 21 officers died in 2021. Sixteen of those fatalities were due to COVID-19.
In 2020, the year the pandemic began, four officers died in the line of duty. Three of those deaths were virus related.