Two New York Police Department detectives were honored at high-profile funerals this week, and they were just the latest in a string of officers killed in the line of duty so far this year.
SO WHAT
Law enforcement officers are dying amid a spike in violent crime that followed the anti-police unrest of 2020.
THE BLUE LIVES LOST
1. FERNANDO ARROYOS, 27: The Los Angeles Police Department officer was killed Jan. 10 in a shootout with gang members while he was house-hunting with his girlfriend.
2. TYLER LENEHAN, 44: The Elk Grove, California, officer was riding his service motorcycle Jan. 21 when he was struck head-on and killed by a suspected drunk driver. Lenehan is survived by his wife and two children.
3. DETECTIVE JASON RIVERA, 22: The NYPD officer was shot while responding to a Jan. 21 domestic dispute call in Harlem and died of his wounds shortly thereafter. He is survived by his wife.
4. WILBERT MORA, 27: The NYPD officer was shot alongside Rivera, his partner, and died Jan, 25 after several days on life support. Mora, whose organs were donated to five patients in three states, is survived by his brother and sister.
5. CPL. CHARLES GALLOWAY, 47: The Harris County, Texas, officer was shot during a Jan. 23 traffic stop, and the suspect, an El Salvadoran national who entered the U.S. illegally, was later apprehended in Mexico. Galloway is survived by his daughter.
6. SGT. RAMON GUTIERREZ, 45: The Harris County sheriff’s deputy was directing traffic Jan. 24 when he was struck and killed by a motorist who was allegedly drunk and attempted to flee the scene. Gutierrez is survived by his wife and three children.
7. DONALD SAHOTA, 52: The Vancouver, Washington, police officer was accidentally shot and killed Jan. 29 by a sheriff’s deputy while trying to detain an armed robber. He is survived by his wife and two children.
MEANWHILE
New York City and many other major U.S. cities have seen last year’s record-breaking violent crime wave continue to grow in 2022.