There were 123 American police officers killed in the line of duty in 2023, including 47 from gunshot wounds, according to the latest Officer Down Memorial Page data.
While that number exposes the danger, it's a remarkable decline in policing deaths in recent years. It is more than half the 250 total in 2022, which is almost one-third of the record 710 officer deaths in the line of duty in 2021.
American police killed in the line of duty, according ODMP.org:
- 2023 – 123
- 2022 – 250
- 2021 – 710
- 2020 – 451
The killings did not cease over New Year's Eve weekend, as Greensboro, North Carolina, police sergeant Philip Dale Nix was shot and killed after he witnessed multiple men committing a crime at a gas station.
Nix was a 23-year veteran of the Greensboro Police Department.
Three men were arrested in the case, including Jamere Justice Foster, 18, who is charged with first-degree murder and larceny, according to police.
During a news conference Saturday, Greensboro Police Chief John Thompson did not specify what crime Nix witnessed or provide additional details about the events leading up to the shooting.
Thompson said another off-duty Greensboro officer and a paramedic were on the scene when Nix was shot and immediately rendered aid. Nix was pronounced dead at a local medical facility.
"He was a loving husband, father, son and brother," Thompson said.
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan also spoke to local media Saturday night, saying the department needs time to complete its investigation and bring the suspects to justice.
"Words are inadequate right now," she said. "There's really nothing I can say that's going to give the family or the officers any comfort. What happened today was a senseless act of violence."
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper posted his condolences Saturday night on X.
"I spoke with Greensboro Police Chief Thompson earlier this evening offering all available state resources to catch those who killed a Greensboro police officer," Cooper wrote. "Our prayers are with the Greensboro police and family and loved ones. Every effort must be made to apprehend those responsible and bring justice in this tragic situation."
Information from The Associated Press was used to compile this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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