Police Officer Line of Duty Deaths in 2010

 I would like to take this time to pause and remember the 161 police officers killed in the line of duty in 2010. In this post, I will focus on Police Officer line of duty deaths and firefighter fatalities in the next post.

On average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 53 hours. Since the first known line-of-duty death in 1792, nearly 19,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Spike in Line of Duty Deaths

2010 was a particularly deadly year for law enforcement, especially after 2009’s 50-year low of 117. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial fund, deaths in the line of duty jumped 37% to 161 in 2010.

There was also a 24 percent spike in shooting deaths from 49 deaths in 2009 to 61 in 2010. The spike in deaths is attributed to “Cluster killings”, more than one officer killed in a single incident. Five multiple fatality shootings accounted for nearly 20 percent of all fatal shootings.

Multiple fatality incidents occurred in: Fresno, CA (2 Officers from separate agencies), San Juan, PR (2 Officers), West Memphis, AR (2 Officers), Tampa, FL (2 Officers), and Hoonah, AK (2 Officers), accounting for 10 officer deaths, or 20 percent of all fatal shootings.

For the third year in a row, Texas (19), Florida (9) and California (11) were in the top five states with the most fatalities - a combined total of 39, or 24 percent of the national total for 2010.

Thirty nine states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico experienced officer fatalities in 2010. Eleven federal law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in 2010, including three U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and two agents from the U.S. Border Patrol.

Leading Cause of Line of Duty Deaths

Preliminary data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund show that for the 13th year in a row, traffic fatalities were the leading cause of officer fatalities, with 73 officers killed in the line of duty—an increase of 43 percent from 2009.

Of the 73 traffic-related fatalities in 2010, 50 officers died in automobile crashes, 16 were struck and killed by automobiles while outside of their vehicles, 1 died in a bicycle accident, and 6 died in motorcycle crashes.

The average age of the officers killed in 2010 was 41; the average length of their law enforcement service was nearly 12 years and on average each officer left behind 2 children. By gender, 154 officers were male and 7 officers were female.

Source: NLEOMF: "Law Enforcement Fatalities Spike Dangerously in 2010"

Fallen Hero Memorials

Below you will find links to Police Officer Memorials. If you have the time, visit the memorials and read some of the entries. I am sure you will be deeply moved as I always am by the countless stories of selfless courage and heroism exhibited by police officers and firefighters who lost their lives while serving and protecting the citizens of this great nation in 2010 and years past.

Also, there are also links to donate to police officer memorial funds. All donations go towards helping families of officers killed in the line of duty get through the difficult times of their loss.

Related Links of Interest

• Officer Down Memorial Page

• Latest Officer Down Headlines

• National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
 
• Police-Scanner.info's First Responder Tribute Page

• Article: "Why Police Officer Deaths Rose 37% in 2010"

That's it for now, until next time, stay safe and thank a police officer for their service next time you see one, they will appreciate it!

-RF