Law
enforcement officials are courageous individuals who dedicate their
lives to keeping the peace and ensuring everyone abides by our given constructs
of law and order. Each day, they put
their lives on the line when they put on their uniforms and leave their
homes. One can never know what to
expect, and families of these brave individuals are always hoping to see their
loved ones at the end of the day.
Unfortunately, not all officers end up making it home. In 2018, the FBI reported that 106 officers
were killed in the line of duty. Of
these, 55 officers lost their lives due to felony criminal acts and 51 lost
their lives in unfortunate accidents.
Officers Who Died Due to Feloneous Acts
There were nine more deaths of officers killed due to criminal
acts in 2018 than there were just a year before, in 2017. The average age of the officers killed was
only 37 years of age and they had served for an average of 10 years. 52 of the fallen officers were male and 3
were female. 46 were white, 7 were
black, and 2 were Pacific islanders.
23 officers died while part of an investigation or other
enforcement activity. 11 officers were
ambushed and 4 were responding to crimes in progress. Three officers were killed when apprehending
a suspect and trying to cuff them, two were transporting prisoners, 2 were
assisting on foot pursuits, and 2 were responding to routine disturbances or
disorders. One officer was killed while
simply controlling traffic and another was killed completely unprovoked.
Of the 55 fallen, 51 were killed by means of firearms and 4
were killed by vehicles. A majority of
these killings occurred in the southern states of the US. Of the assailants committing these acts, 49
had prior arrests and 20were under some form of judicial supervision.
While performing their regular duties, 51 law enforcement
officers were killed. This is an
increase of three when compared to 2017 statistics. 34 of these officers were killed in car
accidents.
The average age of officers who were killed accidentally was
36, having worked an average of 10 years on the force. 47 males and 4 females were killed. 30 of the fallen officers were white, 8 were
black, 3 were American Indian or Alaskan, and 1 was Asian.
There were a number of causes of death. Of the 34 officers who were killed by means
of a vehicle, 29 were operating either cars, SUVs, trucks or vans and 5 were
operating ATVs or motorcycles. Nine
were, unfortunately, pedestrian officers on the line of duty struck by
vehicles.
Three officers accidentally drowned, 2 were killed in
firearm-related incidental (accidentally), 1 was engaging in a foot pursuit,
and 2 were responding to an incident where they were tragically struck by
trains.
Shockingly, of the officers who were killed in motor vehicle
accidents, 15 were not wearing seatbelts.
This is a truly sad fact as many states have laws requiring seatbelt
use. Once again, most of these incidents
occurred in the southern states of the US.
While it may not seem like very many lives lost in the grand
scheme of things, many of these deaths may have been avoided. Our law enforcement goes out each day to
serve and protect the public. 51 of
these men and women were killed due to accidents, not even malicious intentions
on the part of a criminal. This goes to
show that we need to place more of an emphasis on the work these brave
individuals do. Even if not directly
responding to an incident, many still lose their lives, leaving behind family,
friends, and other loved ones.
Statistically, the numbers are going up and we need to start taking
action as a community to help lower them.
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