What Changed

On February 2, 2026, the National Fraternal Order of Police released its first monthly count of the year. As of midnight January 31, 24 officers had been shot in the line of duty in 2026, and 3 of them were killed.

The headline cuts both ways. Shootings were down. Deaths were up. Both are true, and neither by itself tells a chief or council what to fund.

The Numbers

From the FOP's February 2 update:

  • 24 officers shot in January 2026. The FOP put that at 20% below the same point in 2025 and 29% below 2024.
  • 3 officers killed, which the FOP reported as 50% above both 2025 and 2024 for the same period.
  • 6 ambush-style attacks, in which 7 officers were shot and 1 was killed.
  • The FOP noted that 2024 and 2023 had the highest totals for the first month, at 34 officers shot each.

For context, the COPS Office and FOP's 2025 year-end summary counted 347 officers shot in 268 incidents in 2025. Of those, 45 were killed and 302 survived. It counted 67 ambush-style incidents in which 90 officers were shot, 22 of them fatally.

Why It Matters Operationally

Start with the math. A 50% increase in deaths here means three officers instead of two. At numbers this small, one incident can flip the percentage. A single month is not a trend, and nobody should build or cut a program because of one.

What does hold steady across the data is simpler. Most officers who are shot survive the shooting. In 2025, that was 302 of 347. The time between the wound and the trauma surgeon is filled by the wounded officer, a partner, and whoever arrives next. That's where training and equipment decisions pay off.

Ambushes sharpen the point. Six ambush-style attacks in 31 days means officers were hit before they had any chance to set up the encounter on their own terms. In those first moments, the first person giving care is usually the officer who was shot or the one standing next to them.

The Joint Trauma System's Damage Control Resuscitation CPG says "hemorrhage is the leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield." It credits point-of-injury hemorrhage control, rapid evacuation, and early blood with saving lives. That is military guidance, and civilian systems handle transport and blood differently. But the first link, stopping the bleeding where the officer falls, is the same.

ODM's Position

Position: Casualty-care readiness should be funded as a constant, not adjusted to monthly shooting counts. Leadership owns the training calendar, and good news in January doesn't justify cutting it.

Evidence: Most officers shot survive the initial wounding. Ambush-style attacks accounted for about a quarter of officers shot in 2025 (90 of 347) and leave no time to prepare. Hemorrhage remains the leading preventable cause of death in the military trauma literature. None of that changes month to month.

Strongest counterpoint: Budgets are finite, and falling shooting numbers are real good news. Agencies facing staffing shortages can reasonably argue that recruiting or patrol coverage matters more right now than more medical hours. Many officers already carry a tourniquet and received first aid training at the academy. That's fair. The answer isn't unlimited training hours. It's protecting a small, recurring core that doesn't disappear when the numbers look better.

What good looks like:

  • Every officer carries a tourniquet and hemorrhage-control kit on their body, where either hand can reach it, and the agency replaces them on schedule.
  • Hands-on self-aid and buddy-aid refreshers happen at least annually, under stress and in low light, not as a slideshow.
  • Scenarios include the ambush problem: the first casualty is the officer, and there is no time to prepare.
  • Leaders track medical readiness (kit issued, kit in date, officers current) and report it alongside staffing numbers.

What Your Agency Should Do Now

  • Read the monthly FOP numbers for situational awareness, not as a budget trigger.
  • Audit on-body medical kit for every sworn member this quarter.
  • Put a recurring line item for casualty-care sustainment in the general budget, separate from grants.
  • Run one ambush-to-self-aid scenario per shift or team this year.
  • Coordinate with fire/EMS so officer-down handoffs and transport are planned before they're needed.

Bottom Line

January's count was a mix of good news and bad, and the sample was small. Build readiness on what the data shows year after year: most shot officers survive the initial wound, and whoever is closest provides the first care. Fund that capability every year, not in response to one month's numbers.

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