COPS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY

This has been a deadly year for police officers. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, as of Tuesday, 160 cops - 154 men and six women - have been killed in the line of duty this year, a 37 percent increase from the 117 officers killed in 2009.

While each loss is regarded by the law enforcement community as a death in the family, it might help to put the police officer deaths in their proper perspective. There are over 500,000 local, state and federal law enforcement officers in the U.S. While these deaths represent a terrible tragedy for the families and friends of the fallen officers, fortunately they represent just a tiny fraction of the total law enforcement community.

Back in my day, the police academies taught that family disturbances were the most dangerous incidents cops would be faced with and that most officers were injured or killed answering family disturbance calls. And just this past Tuesday evening, Arlington, Texas police officer Jillian Smith, 24, was shot to death as she was trying to protect an 11-year-old girl in a beef between her mother and the mother’s boyfriend. (I’m sure that Smith’s tragic death came too late to be counted for the NLEOMF report.)


I vividly remember when my partner and I answered a call in which we found a drunk had beaten his wife so badly that her face looked like she had lost every round of a boxing title bout. When we struggled with the asshole while trying to arrest him, his wife picked up a broom and proceeded to beat the supreme shit out of both of us.

While a lot of police officers received injuries, ranging from minor bruises to serious wounds, and some were killed answering family fights, the truth always was that, while those calls were indeed dangerous, cops were more likely to get killed in traffic accidents. And more cops died in shootouts with armed robbers than from responding to domestic disturbances.

Traffic accidents have led the number of police deaths most years. A good part of the problem is that cops believe the flashing lights and siren give them the right of way when, in fact, they only seek the right of way. Another problem is that a lot cops ‘get off’ by running hot with flashing lights and sirens, thereby risking loosing control of their vehicle while making turns or negotiating curves.

Here is a breakdown of this year’s police fatalities:

__By state, the most officers were killed in Texas (18), followed by California (11), Illinois (10), Florida (9) and Georgia (7).

__The two law enforcement agencies with the most deaths were the California Highway Patrol and the Chicago Police Department, each with five.

__Eleven of the officers killed nationwide served with federal law enforcement agencies.

__Six female officers were killed, compared to only one in 2009.

__On average, the officers who died were 41-years-old, had served for 12 years and left behind two children.

__Traffic accidents remained the NO. 1 cause of death for the 13th consecutive year, with 73.

__59 officers were shot and killed, a 20 percent increase over the 49 killed by gunfire in 2009.

__No seat belt was worn in 42 percent of the fatal police car wrecks.

Here’s wishing that 2011 will be a better year!