All submissions will be reviewed by a member of the Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc., Board of Directors. Submissions that cannot be verified by a single board member will be reviewed by a majority of the full board. All decisions made by the board are final unless the board finds sufficient reason to re-review individual submissions at a later date. If at any time an officer listed on the ODMP is found to not meet the criteria, the officer will be removed from the ODMP.
QUALIFYING CAUSES OF DEATH
Felonious Causes: Any law enforcement officer who is killed in a felonious way as a result of a line of duty incident.
Accidental Causes: Any law enforcement officer who dies in an accidental way as a result of a line of duty incident.
The category "Gunfire (Inadvertent)" is defined as an incident in which an officer is the victim of an accidental/unintentional discharge of a firearm by the victim officer or another officer; is the victim of a case of mistaken identity by another officer; or, is fatally wounded as the result of friendly-fire during a shooting involving one or more suspects and one or more other officers. The category "Gunfire" is defined as any incident in which an officer is the victim of a shooting by a criminal in the commission of a crime; or, is the victim of a discharge of a weapon by a civilian.
A law enforcement officer who is killed in a vehicle crash while operating a personally owned vehicle while on duty or otherwise in compliance with agency regulations is considered eligible for inclusion. Examples may include a law enforcement officer on official travel status, driving between facilities while on duty, being called back to work unexpectedly, etc.
Natural Causes: Any law enforcement officer who dies of natural causes (heart attack, aneurysm, embolism, etc.) due to physical exertion during a stressful event while on duty.
Example scenarios:
- Struggle with a suspect
- Foot chase or other pursuit of a suspect
- Required departmental training
- Participation in departmental physical fitness program or mandatory fitness assessment
- Search and rescue
- Any other activity requiring physical or “non-routine” exertion while on duty
The law enforcement officer will only be eligible if the first symptoms or death occur within 48 hours of the incident and must be attributed to the incident by a certified medical professional. Written proof may be required. Natural causes deaths that occur while on-duty but not during or following a physical exertion during a qualifying event will not be eligible.
Health Related Causes: Any law enforcement officer who dies as a result of any health-related cause (illness, disease, infection, etc.) that is a direct result of the officer's law enforcement duties.
Example scenarios:
- Contraction of an airborne or bloodborne infectious disease or illness such as COVID-19, Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, etc.
- Contraction of an infection or illness as a result of a duty related illness
- Health related issues due to a HAZMAT incident
Evidence of a direct relation between a duty related incident and the contraction of a disease or illness must be presented in the form of official documentation.
Previous Injuries: Any law enforcement officer who dies as a result of any criminal act or accidental cause sustained at any time while on duty before the actual date of death. Written proof, such as a coroner's report or department records, may be required.
Off Duty Deaths: Any law enforcement officer who dies or is killed off duty while acting in an official capacity to prevent loss of property, injury, or death, or is targeted because of his/her duties as a law enforcement officer.
Any law enforcement officer killed in a vehicle crash who is off-duty while operating an agency-owned vehicle in compliance with the agency’s take-home vehicle policy shall be considered on-duty for the purposes of establishing eligibility.
Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program: Any law enforcement officer whose survivors are approved to receive benefits from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program as the result of any cause of death other than suicide will be deemed eligible for inclusion on ODMP.
DISQUALIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES
Any law enforcement officer whose death meets one of the following conditions shall be ineligible to be included on the ODMP:
- Deaths attributed to voluntary alcohol or controlled substance abuse or while the victim officer is under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance
- Suicides or deaths caused by the intentional misconduct of the officer
- Deaths caused by the officer's intention to bring about his/her own death
- Deaths attributed to an officer performing his/her duty in a grossly negligent manner at the time of initial injury or death
- Off-duty automobile crashes where the officer is not involved in any type of duty-related activity, including while commuting to or from a regularly scheduled shift or assignment in a personally owned vehicle
- Off-duty law enforcement officers serving as overseas peacekeepers, government contractors, or active-duty military
- Private law enforcement, security, or corrections officers working for for-profit law enforcement companies (even if holding a state law enforcement commission)
DEFINITIONS
Line of Duty Death: Any law enforcement officer who has died as a direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty. This includes law enforcement officers who, while in an off-duty capacity, act in direct response to an emergency situation involving the general public or a violation of the law.
Law Enforcement Officer: A law enforcement officer is any marshal, police officer, deputy sheriff, agent, or employee of any other title employed by a municipal, city, county, state, or federal agency and has powers of arrest. Any employee of a public authority, railroad, private institution of higher education, or otherwise holds a police commission from a state are considered law enforcement officers. Volunteer/Auxiliary officers/deputies who are granted powers of arrest while on duty are also considered law enforcement officers.
Correctional & Detention Officers: Officers who are employed as correctional or detention officers by any city, county, regional, state, or federal jail or corrections department are considered law enforcement officers for purposes of being honored on the ODMP, even if they do not have power of arrest outside the confines of the facility to which they are employed. The officer in question must be employed in a position that gives him/her primary or limited responsibility for the custody and security of suspected or convicted criminal offenders. If custody and security of suspected or convicted criminal offenders is not a person's primary function (e.g. correctional employee such as Maintenance Supervisor, Farm Manager, Food Service Instructor, etc.), then that person must be engaged in custody and security duties when their fatal injury is sustained.
Military Law Enforcement Officers: Military personnel (civilian, enlisted or commissioned officers) who act as law enforcement officers for their agency are considered law enforcement officers for the purpose of being honored on the ODMP. Military police officers will not be included if the death occurs as a result of combat during a time of war, military conflict, military exercise, or military operation. Military police officers will only be considered if their death occurs while conducting conventional law enforcement duties.
Investigators/Special Agents (civilian, enlisted or commissioned officers) for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Army Criminal Investigation Command, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division, or Naval Criminal Investigative Service shall be eligible to be included while assigned to wartime areas for criminal or investigative purposes.
Rev. 12/2022