What Changed

On September 1, 2026, the National Fraternal Order of Police published its monthly count of officers shot in the line of duty. Through August 31, 215 officers had been shot this year and 20 had been killed.

Deaths were down sharply from the same point in the previous two years. The number of officers shot was down only slightly. That means 195 officers were shot this year and were not among the 20 killed, Each of them became a patient in the minutes after being hit, often before EMS could get to them.

The Numbers

These figures are from the FOP's September 1 and August 3 monthly updates:

  • 215 officers shot through Aug. 31, which the FOP says is 6% fewer than at the same point in 2025.
  • 20 officers killed by gunfire, down 38% from 2025 and 51% from 2024 over the same period.
  • 31 ambush-style attacks, in which 41 officers were shot and 7 were killed.
  • The FOP says 2023 had the highest count at this point in the year, with 271 officers shot in the first eight months.
  • Through July 31, the counts were 198 shot and 17 killed. Our subtraction puts August at roughly 17 officers shot and 3 killed.

The FOP's summary doesn't say why deaths fell, and we won't guess. Wound location, EMS arrival time, and trauma-center distance all play a part, and the report doesn't break them down.

Why It Matters Operationally

These numbers include real incidents from this month. On Sept. 3 in Richmond, Calif., an officer was shot shortly after arriving at a crisis call (Police1). On Sept. 7 in Claiborne County, Miss., a deputy was killed while breaking up a crowd at a convenience store, and a woman was wounded (Police1/WLBT).

The Joint Trauma System's Damage Control Resuscitation CPG says hemorrhage "is the leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield," and it credits tourniquets as possibly saving more wounded service members "than any other single medical intervention." Those are military data, but a thigh wound bleeds the same on patrol.

C-TECC's Direct Threat Care applies the same rule to every provider level: deal with the threat, get to cover, and control massive bleeding with a tourniquet. The military TCCC Guidelines tell a wounded person to "apply self-aid if able." In an ambush, the wounded officer may be the only person who can do that.

ODM's Position

Position: Agencies should track how many of their officers survive being shot as a readiness measure, and fund the things that affect it (self-aid, buddy aid, and extraction) as a recurring budget item, not a one-time class.

Evidence: In eight months, 195 officers were shot and not killed. About one in five officers shot this year (41 of 215) were hit in ambushes, where the wounded officer may be the first person able to act. Military trauma guidance consistently puts early bleeding control first.

Strongest counterpoint: Deaths are down, so some will say current training is working and money should go to recruitment, staffing, or prevention. That's a reasonable argument. Tourniquets are cheap, and many agencies already issue them. Prevention also matters more than treatment: stopping a shooting beats treating one.

Our take: Lower deaths are good news, but they don't show that training caused the drop, and a year of lower numbers doesn't lock in the next one. Keeping a skill up is cheap next to what it costs when it isn't there. Having a tourniquet isn't the same as being ready to use it.

What good looks like:

  • One-handed self-aid practiced at least once a quarter, not once at the academy.
  • Casualty care built into firearms and tactics training, so officers practice shooting, moving, and treating in the same drill.
  • Protected officer-rescue drills using realistic vehicles and cover.
  • After-action reviews of every officer-involved shooting that cover the medical side as well as the use of force.

What Your Agency Should Do Now

  • Get your own numbers: how many of your officers have been shot in the past ten years and what was done for them medically in the first ten minutes.
  • Check your equipment and your training: whether each officer's tourniquet is in date, how it's carried, and when that officer last practiced putting it on themselves under stress.
  • Put medical training in the regular operating budget, alongside firearms qualification, so it doesn't depend on grants.

Bottom Line

Twenty officers killed by gunfire is fewer than at this point in 2024 or 2025, and that's good. But 215 officers were shot. The FOP's report is a reminder that what happens in the first minutes after an officer is hit is a capability, and it has to be trained and paid for.

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