Patel Opens Police Week 2026, Citing 53 Officers Feloniously Killed Last Year
May 11, 2026 · FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation · 0:02:21
Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube
What happened
FBI Director Kash Patel delivered a video message opening Police Week 2026, published May 11, 2026. Patel said each May the country pauses to commemorate the dedication and bravery of law enforcement communities, and that over the prior year he had met federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers across the nation whose work, he said, is the reason the country is the safest it has been in a long time.
Patel said that last year 53 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty and another 28 died in accidents while protecting and serving their communities, as he stated those figures. He said those officers left for work knowing they might not come home, and that their sacrifices left legacies that will not be forgotten.
Addressing officers and their families, Patel said the FBI is honored to serve alongside them. He credited the Trump administration, which he said always backs the blue, and repeated his warning that if you touch a cop, “we’re going to put you down,” as he phrased it, saying backing the blue is here to stay.
Why it matters
The annual Police Week message records the FBI’s official fallen-officer figures for the prior year as its Director stated them, and restates the administration’s pro-law-enforcement posture in the bureau’s own voice.
Sources: FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Director Patel Kicks Off Police Week 2026”, 2026-05-11 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-05-11). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.
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