Steven H. Armbruster
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

Steven H. Armbruster

Lehigh County Sheriff's Office — Allentown, PA
Veteran → Illness
End of Watch December 23, 2021
Age 54
Tour of Duty 31 yrs
The Vigil Panel 178 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Steven Armbruster died as a result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.

Deputy Armbruster was a United States Army veteran who served nine years with the Lehigh County Sheriff's Office. He had previously served two years with the Emmaus Police Department, Weisport Police Department as the Chief of Police, and twenty years with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education as a State Commissioned Police Officer.

COVID-19 and Law Enforcement

Deputy Sheriff Steven H. Armbruster died on December 23, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 54.

He is one of 884 officers honored here.

Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.

Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.

Survivors

Deputy Armbruster is survived by his wife and three children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-63FD60D7
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Army. One record, 2 gates. Steven is one person.

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Tributes

The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Deputy Sheriff Armbruster gave the Lehigh County Sheriff's Office 31 years.
Thank you for your service to the Allentown community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Armbruster.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Sheriff's Office
Location Allentown, Lehigh County, PA
Platform Identity lcso.lehigh.pa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 23, 2021
Tour of Duty 31 yrs
Age 54
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail COVID19

Military Service

Steven H. Armbruster served in the U.S. Army (1986–1989) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Deputy Sheriff Steven H. Armbruster is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In PA, 121 of 1,261 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.6% of this state's fallen. That is 9.6 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Lehigh County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 5 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 20% of this agency's fallen.

Lehigh County Sheriff's Office
1
of 5 officers
20% Illness
PA — Statewide
121
of 1,261 officers
9.6% Illness
Nationwide
1
of 97,759 officers
0% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Steven H. Armbruster's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Steven H. Armbruster Compares

Age at Death
54
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.7 years
Years of Service
31
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.7 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Steven H. Armbruster is highlighted in Dec.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
186
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
182
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
353
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location

Military Service

Steven H. Armbruster served in the U.S. Army (1986–1989) before joining law enforcement.

Visit Steven H. Armbruster’s page on salute.nw →

His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.