Officer Line-of-Duty Deaths
South Dakota
Line-of-duty deaths of officers serving South Dakota agencies, 2005 to 2026. Source: Officer Down Memorial Page. COVID-19 and 9/11-related illness are excluded from the headline figures.
Deaths (excl. COVID and 9/11)
6
2 COVID-19 and 0 9/11 deaths excluded
Per Million Residents
6.8
2020 Census population
National Rank
#36
of 51, by per-million
Gunfire Share
50%
Of displayed deaths
Deaths by Year
Line-of-duty deaths per year in South Dakota.
By Cause
Share of all recorded deaths including COVID-19 and 9/11 illness where present.
By Agency Type
Which kinds of agency lost officers.
Most Recent Line-of-Duty Deaths
The most recent officers from South Dakota agencies. Each name links to their ODMP memorial.
| 2024 | Ken Prorok | Chief Deputy Sheriff | Struck by vehicle | Moody County Sheriff's Office |
| 2022 | Braxton Hofman | Correctional Officer | COVID19 | Lake County Sheriff's Office |
| 2021 | David Henry | Correctional Officer | COVID19 | Pennington County Sheriff's Office |
| 2020 | Lee Russell Weber | Chief Deputy | Drowned | Hughes County Sheriff's Office |
| 2011 | Nicholas Keegan Armstrong | Police Officer | Gunfire | Rapid City Police Department |
| 2011 | James Ryan McCandless | Police Officer | Gunfire | Rapid City Police Department |
| 2011 | Ronald E. "RJ" Johnson | Correctional Officer | Assault | South Dakota Department of Corrections |
| 2009 | Chad Lee Mechels | Deputy Sheriff | Gunfire | Turner County Sheriff's Office |
Methodology
Source: the Officer Down Memorial Page. Counts cover officers serving South Dakota agencies whose end of watch fell in 2005through 2026, K9 records excluded. Per-million uses 2020 Census population.
COVID-19 and 9/11-related illness are excluded from the headline figures because ODMP counts both as line of duty and each is a one-time-event tail. COVID dominated 2020 and 2021. The 9/11 cancers concentrate in New York for a 2001 event. Toggle either back on in the charts. Other illness such as heart attacks stays in.