However, the good news comes with an asterisk.
In 2025 there were 98 law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. That's down from 196 in 2024, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. Randy Sutton, a law enforcement veteran of 34 years turned media commentator, says that's really good news.
“Is it good news that less officers were killed? That's 100% absolutely yes.”
But he says the anti-law enforcement sentiment in some cities has not diminished. Officers are still subject to extreme violence just for putting on the uniform.
“Three-hundred-forty-seven officers were shot in the line of duty, and 22 of them, of the 45 officers who were killed, were ambushed,” Sutton said.
He also says years of 'defund the police' abuse has left many agencies severely shorthanded.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020, a dozen local governments voted to reduce their police budgets by over $1.4 billion, including major cities like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.
In Minneapolis, city council members pledged to dismantle the local police department, aiming to replace it with a new public safety model, though this effort faced bureaucratic hurdles, including a blocked charter rewrite and political opposition.
Similarly, school districts in cities like Denver, Oakland, and Seattle reduced or eliminated police presence in schools, reflecting a broader movement to reevaluate the role of law enforcement in community services.
“You have cities that are down sometimes 25% of their force. Less cops, less injuries,” Sutton said.
Sutton says fewer officers means less proactive policing, visiting neighborhoods, working with kids in the community and the like.
“The de-policing that's taken place has diminished the proactive policing, which often leads to other injuries.”
The lack of officers also means serious police work is not being done.
“It also means less crime being solved and less individuals being taken into custody who were committing crimes.”
