MOLINE, Ill. — The National Fraternal Order of Police reported that 378 law enforcement officers were shot in the line of duty in 2023, 46 of whom were killed by gunfire.
In Illinois, 11 officers were shot and two were killed by gunfire in 2023. The officers killed, Andres Lasso and Aréanah Preston, were both members of the Chicago Police Department. In 2022, 14 officers were shot in Illinois with no reported deaths by gunfire, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Fraternal Order of Police.
In Iowa, only one officer was shot and killed in 2023. Officer Kevin Cram of the Algona Police Department in northern Iowa was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 13. In 2022, one officer was shot and survived.
Compared to national data in 2022, there were 47 more officers shot in 2023. However, there were 15 fewer deaths by gunfire in 2023. Last year had the highest number of officers shot since 2018, but also had the lowest number of deaths. 2021 saw the most officer deaths by gunfire at 64.
Patrick Yoes, president of the National Fraternal Order of Police, commented on the report's findings in a statement calling on Congress to pass the Protect and Serve Act. This would establish a new criminal offense for causing serious bodily injury to a police officer.
"Many will often look at this data and just see numbers, but we must remember that they represent heroes — fathers, mothers, sons and daughters," Yoes said in a statement. "This scale of violence against our officers is horrifying and simply unsustainable."
Yoes also said advancements in medical trauma science and anti-ballistic technology contributed to the smaller number of deaths.
