Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Carl Proper died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.
Officer Proper had served with the Kings Mountain Police Department for three years. He had served in law enforcement for 16 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Police Officer Carl Lee Proper died on September 17, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 39.
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
Officer Proper is survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-99952026- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Police Officer Proper gave the Kings Mountain Police Department 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Kings Mountain community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Proper.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Carl Lee Proper is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NC, 37 of 664 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 5.6% of this state's fallen. That is 3.5 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Kings Mountain Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Carl Lee Proper's cause is highlighted.
How Carl Lee Proper Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Carl Lee Proper is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Kings Mountain Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
