COVID-19 could eclipse 9/11 in causing police officer deaths

Sheila Byron-Lagattuta, chief of police in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, wasn't shocked to learn of the bold new killers talking law enforcement officers across the nation.

Scores of l aw enforcement officials, from beat officers and detectives to border patrol agents and prison guards, have died of COVID-19. The Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring fallen officers, lists more than 100 who lost their lives to t he virus. Spokeswoman Jessica Rushing said her organization has about 150 more such fatalities awaiting formal verification.

In Glen Ridge, Officer Charles Roberts, praised by his peers as “the face of the police department” who had a smile for everyone, died in May. Byron-Lagattuta was among several other officers infected. She says she is fine now, but she did pass the virus along to a 16-year-old daughter, who six months later is still struggling with aftereffects.

“When you signup to be a police officer you realize you might have to lay your life on the line,” Byron-Lagattuta told USA TODAY. “But you don't expect a virus to be creeping under your door. It is a new era for policing.”

The tragic result is that line-of-duty officer deaths in 2020 have already exceeded the total from 2019, when gunfire and vehicle crashes accounted for two-thirds of the 147 fatalities counted by the Officer Down Memorial group.

Law enforcement officers have been considered essential workers throughout the pandemic and thus face higher rates of exposure and transmission. The pandemic has been particularly cruel to corrections officers.