The coronavirus has emerged as the deadliest threat to law enforcement this year.
As of Wednesday, the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP) – which tracks deaths of police in the line of duty – says 101 officers have fallen victim to the virus, more than three times the number of those killed by gunfire in 2020.
"You've got to get close to people if you've got to arrest them," Nick Marolda, the president of the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association, told WTVT when asked about the statistic. "You've got to make contact. So, you can mask up, you can have gloves on, but if it's a life-and-death situation, it's business as usual for law enforcement."
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The coronavirus is being blamed for more than half of the 188 deaths this year recorded by the OMDP.
Gunfire is the second leading cause with 33 deaths, followed by automobile crashes with 15 and vehicular assaults with 8, its statistics show.
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Through August, the OMDP says 182 police officers have died in the line of duty, compared to 103 during the same stretch last year.
B.L.U.E. Help, an organization that tracks law enforcement suicides, has also recorded 84 so far this year.