Two California police officers were killed within a 24-hour span earlier this week as the number of officers who have died on duty continues a tragic trend.
According to reports, Detective Luca Benedetti was a 12-year veteran of the San Luis Obispo Police Department with a wife and two children. Benedetti was shot and killed while executing a search warrant for stolen property on Monday.
Officer Jimmy Inn was shot and killed hours later while responding to a domestic violence call. The perpetrator shot Inn at the door and then went back into the residence and attempted to choke an 8-year-old boy. Another resident tackled the assailant, who was eventually shot and killed by another police officer.
There have been 124 officers who have died in 2021, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
While more than half of the deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 (64), there have been 23 resulting from gunfire. In 2020 there were 45 officer deaths due to gunfire.
