Fifty-six law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in 2010 in the line of duty in the United States, more than the 48 officers slain in 2009, according to preliminary statistics released Monday by the FBI.
Another 72 officers died in 2010 in accidents, compared to 48 accidental deaths in 2009.
And the numbers are rising even faster in 2011, with 38 officers being deliberately killed so far through May 12, and another 31 dying as the result of an accident or other incidents.
At the current rate, the 2011 number of deliberate police killings would top 100, nearly twice the number of dead officers as 2010. At the current rate, police fatalities from on-duty accidents would reach about 85 in 2011, an almost 20 percent increase over 2010.
By region, the FBI said that during 2010, a total of 22 victims were killed in the South, 18 in the West, 10 in the Midwest, three in the Northeast, and three in Puerto Rico.
Of the 56 felonious deaths, 15 officers were killed during ambushes — 13 of whom died during unprovoked attacks and two under entrapment circumstances. Eight of the slain officers were investigating suspicious persons or circumstances, seven were killed during traffic pursuits and stops, six of the fallen officers interrupted robberies in progress or were pursuing robbery suspects, and six were responding to disturbance calls.
The FBI said three of the officers interrupted burglaries in progress or were pursuing burglary suspects, three died during tactical situations, two were conducting investigations, one officer was transporting a prisoner, one was killed during a drug-related conflict, and four of the officers were attempting to make arrests for other offenses.
Offenders used firearms in all but one of the felonious deaths of law enforcement officers in 2010, according to the FBI. Thirty-eight of the fallen officers were killed with handguns, 15 with rifles and two with shotguns. The only officer who was not a victim of firearms was killed with a vehicle.
Of the 56 victim officers, the FBI said 38 were wearing body armor at the times of their deaths. Sixteen of the victim officers fired their own weapons, and seven officers attempted to use their own weapons. Seven officers were killed with their own weapons.
The 56 victim officers were killed in 51 separate incidents. Forty-nine of those incidents have been cleared by arrest or the suspect’s death.
The FBI will release final statistics on officers killed and assaulted in the line of duty in the Uniform Crime Reporting Programs annual report, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, which will be published on the FBI website in the fall.
• Jerry Seper can be reached at jseper@washingtontimes.com.
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