2007 A Deadly Year For Police

Surge In Traffic Fatalities And Shooting Deaths Plague U.S. Law Enforcement

(AP)  A record number of fatal traffic incidents and a double-digit spike in shooting deaths led to one of the deadliest years for law enforcement officers in more than a decade.

With the exception of 2001, which saw a dramatic increase in deaths because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, 2007 was the deadliest year for law enforcement since 1989, according to preliminary data released jointly by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Concerns of Police Survivors.

The report counted the deaths of 186 officers as of Dec. 26, up from 145 last year. Eighty-one died in traffic incidents, which the report said surpassed their record of 78 set in 2000. Shooting deaths increased from 52 to 69, a rise of about 33 percent.

Nine states had no officer fatalities in 2007, according to the report: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont.

"Most of us don't realize that an officer is being killed in America on average every other day," said Craig W. Floyd, chairman of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Officer fatalities have generally declined since peaking at 277 in 1974, the report said. Historically, officers have been more likely to be killed in an attack than to die accidentally and shootings outnumbered car crashes. But those trends began to reverse in the late 1990s. This year, about six of every 10 deaths were accidental.

Floyd credited technology improvements with helping reverse the trend. Safety vests save lives and non-lethal devices such as electric stun guns prevent some fatal encounters, he said. He attributed the spike in shooting deaths to the increase in violent crime nationwide.

"Law enforcement is the front line against violent criminals," he said.

Of the 81 traffic deaths this year, 60 officers died in car crashes, 15 were hit by cars and six died in motorcycle crashes.

Police departments have worked to limit high-speed chases and only seven of the car crashes were attributed to such pursuits, Floyd said. Crashes involving a single police cruiser responding to a call were far more common, he said.

After traffic crashes and shootings, physical causes such as heart attacks were the leading cause of death, contributing to 18 fatalities.

Texas led the nation with 22 fatalities followed by Florida (16), New York (12), and California (11). The report includes the death of 17 federal law enforcement officers, including five Air Force Office of Special Investigations agents killed in two bombings in Iraq.

The report counted six times in which multiple officers were shot and killed in the same incident, such as the September shooting in Odessa, Texas that left three officers dead while responding to a domestic violence call. Domestic violence and traffic stops were the circumstances that most commonly led to fatal police shootings this year, the report found.

The average age of officers who died in 2007 was 39. Most were men and had served an average of about 11 years in law enforcement.

[jn122736]

I wonder what increase a study of police shootings/taserings of everyday citizens would show?

I know the REPORTING of these shootings/taserings is greater by far, since the Internet news has evolved.

The sad part is, there are a lot of shoot/taser-first, rogue cowboys-in-uniform who are not only killing and maiming innocent civilians, but also endangering those officers of character who perform their duties with honor, and who respect those they are sworn to protect.

As we become more and more of a %u201Cpolice state, the violence will increase, on both sides, because Americans are, by nature, intolerant of bullying by others, even the police.
We have been raised that way for the past two centuries.

The police departments tend to cover for even the rogue cops when, in the long run, they would do better to correct the situation and eliminate the problem

[redbarron73]

"Law enforcement is the front line against violent criminals," he said.


Wrong! But my .357 is.

[gunownerdan]

Lots of people really hate cops, and the "war on drugs" is largely to blame.
Fight crime and violence, END PROHIBITION!
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
www.leap.cc

[gunownerdan]

So much for the slogan "TO PROTECT AND SERVE".
The police is becoming more and more militarized as we march towards becoming what seems to be a fascist police-state controlled by corporations that profit from war.

[Krazcarl]

They bring it on themselves with there cooky atitude and behind the back dealing heck we got one that has murdered 3 wives sitting at the house watching TV. The police need to police themselves screw this wall of blue.

[excoachken]

Who needs gun control???????????

[myidoncbs]

The story said: "This year, about six of every 10 deaths were accidental."

Then Floyd said: "Law enforcement is the front line against violent criminals."

Kind of contradictory, eh? The cops think that they are the "front line", risking their lives in fighting the "bad guys". The truth is, they are just killing themselves with incompetent driving!

On another note:

gunownerdan says, "Fight crime and violence, END PROHIBITION!"

S.O.A.B!!!! That''s something dan and I agree on! (It must be my early childhood libertarian influence!) I congratulate dan for veering off his previous mono-topic (mo'' guns!) and on to something else. (But just because outlawing drugs has caused way more problems than it''s fixed, don''t think I''m going to vote for that phoney, RP!)

[gunownerdan]

"don''t think I''m going to vote for that phoney, RP!"
Posted by MyIDonCBS

Actually, Ron Paul is one of the only politicians who does not accept his lucrative congressional pension. He also has a rock-solid voting record in congress.
There really isn''t much that''s phoney about Dr. Paul, ulike all the other candidates who are members of the CFR(Council on Foreign Relations).

[bobnjersey]

more law enforcement deaths would be expected as the country moves closer and closer to a police state.

it will get better once they figure out how to control everyone and their actions.

[kissamaarse]

Bill Clinton dedicated a large amount of federal dollars for law enforcement. Boy George retracted it. It wasn''t making Bush''s corporate friends wealthy.

[excoachken]

Let''s see--- Texas, where a concealed weapon is legal leads the nation in cop deaths. Okay,let''s hear the spin to cover that. Since the NRA is responsible for the war weapons on our streets being so available, perhaps it is time for the cops to start looking for those cute little "I''m a proud NRA member." signs on the back of cars and start doing VERY CAREFUL and COMPLETE searches of those vehicles, looking for the AK-47s and Oozies that these gun nuts so often stow away in their dual wheeled pick up trucks. I think it might take 20-30 minutes for a proper inspection and that time would be used for the driver to sober up.

[dustfullman]

The Public has more to fear from The Police than The Police have to fear from The Public. Policing is statistically one of the safest occupations. "The Danger" comes from watching too many episodes of Dirty Harry. The Police are becoming little more than an occupying force in this country. Publicly every one supports "the good ones" privately every one fears them. If the avewrage person knew what the police were up to, no one would ever sleep.

[dickyounger]

Were any police deaths caused by gun owners with concealed weapons permits? I doubt it. Also, 4 states lead in police deaths - Texas, Florida, New York, and California The last two states have fairly strict gun control laws, while the first two are fairly liberal as regards gun ownership.

[excoachken]

To dickyounger: As long as a violent/crazed/or just plain stupid person has easy access to weapons made for war, with the lame excuse that they "just want to hunt" there is NO PLACE IN THIS COUNTRY WITH STRICT GUN LAWS! Now, tell me once more, with a straight face, why you need that AK-47, and don''t give me the story about how bothersome Chip and Dale are for you.

[excoachken]

To ilikecats: Why can''t you explain the need for war like weapons in the hands of the unstable, has the cat got your tongue? You appear to be a very "level headed citizen", who would never "fly off the handle and blow away you neighbor", just because they challenged you to "explain your Freudian fascination with cats and firearms (NOT). Have some of Kitty''s warm milk with your overdue medication and put another clip in(err record on). Sogni D''ora

[gunownerdan]

"Jews are prohibited from acquiring, possessing, and carrying firearms and ammunition, as well as truncheons or stabbing weapons.
Those now possessing weapons and ammunition are at once to turn them over to the local police authority.
Firearms and ammunition found in a Jew''s possession will be forfeited to the government without compensation.
Whoever willfully or negligently violates the provisions...will be punished with imprisonment and a fine.
Berlin, 11 November 1938
Minister of the Interior
Frick"
- Nazi Weapons Law of November 11, 1938

All you have to do is substitute the word "Jews" with the word "Civilians".

[kailumego1]

Guns and cars useful instruments for forging food and transportation, however deadly in the hands of psycho-deranged and explosive individuals.

Certainly guns and cars don''t "directly" kill people, animals, etc., because they are inanimate objects, they can''t function without some so-called higher-order thinking ****-sapien controlling its mechanism.

So, it''s people who pose danger to others and not guns and cars, because we all know they haven''t a life of their own.

And until we figure out a sure fire way to discern between the "fruitcakes and rational-beings" then guns and cars, especially guns, should be circumscribed to only law enforcement officers, which should be checked periodically to ensure they''re not "fruitcakes".