“More than 20 police officers are dead now because of the riots.”
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Post inflates number of police killed in connection to protests
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- One officer’s death has been conclusively connected to violence during protests, retired police captain David Dorn.
- The FBI is still investigating the motive in the death of Dave Patrick Underwood, a security officer in Oakland who was shot while protests passed blocks away.
- A website that tracks active local law enforcement officer deaths lists nine officers who have died since May 26. None have been connected to the protests.
An Oakland, Calif., security officer was fatally shot while working security at a federal courthouse while protests passed a few blocks away. Three days later, a retired officer in St. Louis was fatally shot while responding to a break-in at his friend’s pawn shop amid protests.
The FBI is still investigating whether 53-year-old Dave Patrick Underwood’s May 29 death in Oakland was in any way connected to the nearby protests over police brutality. In St. Louis, meanwhile, police have arrested a man they say shot 77-year-old retired officer David Dorn on June 2 when looting and violence followed peaceful protests.
While these two incidents have generated news coverage in the wake of George Floyd’s May 25 death in police custody, we find no evidence of a June 3 claim shared by the thousands on Facebook:
"More than 20 police officers are dead now because of the riots. Where is their justice?"
Featured Fact-check
The Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit dedicated to honoring local active duty law enforcement officers, lists nine law enforcement officers who have died nationwide since protests began. According to the website and news reports, none were related to the Floyd protests.
One officer was shot and killed while delivering an eviction notice. Two were killed while responding to separate domestic disturbance incidents. Two died after contracting COVID-19. One was accidentally shot by another law enforcement officer while responding to a suspicious person call. One was shot and killed while responding to a call for service at a hotel. One died following a vehicle collision. One died while responding to a call about a suspicious vehicle.
We did find news reports indicating that several active law enforcement officers have sustained injuries in the course of the hundreds of protests staged in communities across the country since Floyd died. But we found no other information to suggest that more have lost their lives.
We rate this claim False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, June 3, 2020
PolitiFact, The death of George Floyd: What you need to know, May 29, 2020
New York Times, A Timeline of the George Floyd Protests, June 8, 2020
Mercury News, Federal officer killed in Oakland shooting identified, May 31, 2020
NBC News, Authorities identify federal officer killed in Oakland during George Floyd protest, May 31, 2020
USA Today, George Floyd protests: Officer killed near Oakland protest identified, June 1, 2020
Los Angeles Times, Officers shot in Santa Cruz, Oakland. FBI investigates link, June 7, 2020
NBC Bay Area, Suspect in Deputy Slaying is Team Leader on ‘Elite’ Air Force Security Team, June 8, 2020
NBC News, Retired St. Louis police captain killed by looters while trying to protect friend's shop, June 3, 2020
Officer Down Memorial Page, Law Enforcement Line of Duty Deaths in 2020, accessed on June 9, 2020
Washington Post, Shot officer was targeted at Vegas protest, authorities say, June 5, 2020
FBI San Francisco, FBI Update on Shooting Incident at Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland, May 31, 2020
USA Today, Tracking protests across the USA in the wake of George Floyd's death, June 10, 2020
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Hundreds gather at St. Louis church to honor ex-police captain killed in looting, June 10, 2020
Fox News, Deadly unrest: Here are the people who have died amid George Floyd protests across US, June 8, 2020
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Post inflates number of police killed in connection to protests
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