VERY GOOD NEWS .... BUT IT'S NO CONSOLATION FOR THE 97 POLICE OFFICERS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN 2025

Police deaths nationwide poised to fall below 100 for first time since 1940s

 

By Gage Goulding and Jeovany Luna 

 

Click2Houston

Dec 31, 2025 

 

HOUSTON – For the first time since the 1940s, the number of police officers killed in the line of duty nationwide is poised to drop below 100, marking a historic milestone in law enforcement safety.

With just hours remaining in 2025, the year’s total stands at 97 officers lost. It’s a number that Ken Nealy, First Vice President of the Houston Police Officer’s Union, calls “monumental.”

“Any officer that loses their life in the line of duty, it’s a traumatic situation not only for their family, their agency, but also the citizens that they protect and serve,” Nealy said from the Houston Police Officers Memorial, where 153 fallen HPD officers are honored. “To see that number be under 100 is an incredible feat.”

The dramatic decrease coincides with the largest single-year drop in murders ever recorded nationally, according to data from AH Datalytics.

In Houston alone, homicides have declined by 18%, according to the Real Time Crime Index, which tracks data from police departments across the country.

Nealy, a 30-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, attributes the decline to several factors, including enhanced training, improved technology and increased staffing levels.

“I think the training that our officers have utilized is a major factor,” Nealy explained. “Being able to put more officers on the street, not only just here but nationwide, helps our officers when they respond to calls. It prevents the likelihood of an offender taking violent action towards an officer when there are multiple officers on scene.”

Despite the encouraging statistics, dangers persist.

Earlier this month, Houston police officers faced gunfire while attempting to apprehend a suspect with a felony warrant, highlighting the daily risks officers continue to face.

For families who have lost loved ones in the line of duty, the declining numbers offer bittersweet comfort.

Tanya Childress, whose daughter Jennifer Chavis was killed by a drunk driver while serving with the Harris County Precinct Seven Constable’s Office in 2022, believes her daughter would be “ecstatic” about the trend.

“She loved her job. She loved what she did, but she also loved coming home to her family, to her son,” Childress said. “We live in a society where violence against law enforcement is just a daily thing and we see it a lot. That’s the reality.”

Chavis, an Army veteran who served six years before joining law enforcement, represented the dedication that draws many to the profession.

“Her mind was set. That’s where her heart was to protect and serve,” her mother recalled.

The Houston Police Department has been fortunate in recent years, losing only one officer in 2025: Alex Roberts, a motorcycle officer killed in a vehicle accident during an escort.

The department hasn’t lost an officer to gunfire in several years, which Nealy attributes partly to superior technology and equipment.

Looking ahead to 2026, law enforcement leaders aim to push the numbers even lower.

“If we can get that number to one and none, that would be wonderful,” Nealy said. “That would be a blessing nationwide, felt by every officer and every agency in the United States.”

For Nealy, who has lost classmates and colleagues over his three-decade career, including Sergeant Sean Rios, Sergeant Harold Preston, and Officer Jason Knox, the goal of zero deaths carries deep personal meaning.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about them,” he said. “You always feel it, but you always think about the price that they paid to provide protection and make the city safer for those people that live here.”