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Posted by: kwflatbed

By JUAN-CARLOS RODRIGUEZ


Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON- The FBI reported Monday that 139 police officers were killed in the line of duty in 2004, with guns and traffic accidents claiming the most lives.


Of the total, which is seven deaths more than in 2003, 54 were shot to death and 48 were killed in traffic accidents. Thirty-one of those killed with guns were wearing body armor.

There were nine more shooting deaths in 2004 than the previous year.

Authorities solved all but one of the cases in 2004 of officers who were shot to death or otherwise intentionally killed. Thirty-nine suspects were arrested, 11 were killed by police and eight committed suicide, according to the FBI.

Thirty-nine of the 57 officers killed intentionally were on vehicle patrols. Ten were slain while investigating disturbance calls, and 12 were ambushed.

Twenty-seven of the intentional killings and 39 of the 82 accidental deaths took place in the South, by far the deadliest region.

In all cases, the average age of the officer killed was 39 and average level of police experience was 12 years for those killed intentionally and 11 years for those killed accidentally.

Besides the officer deaths, more than 59,000 officers were assaulted in 2004 while performing official duties, with more than 16,000 suffering injuries. Eighty percent of these attacks involved hands, fists and feet.

The report was culled from information submitted by more than 10,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.

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On the Net:

FBI: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2004/openpage.htm

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Posted by: MSP75

We have to remember not to get complacent behind the wheel or when approaching a person.

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Posted by: Gil

Guns, traffic accidents claimed most officer lives in 2004

By JUAN-CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON- The FBI reported Monday that 139 police officers were killed in the line of duty in 2004, with guns and traffic accidents claiming the most lives.

Of the total, which is seven deaths more than in 2003, 54 were shot to death and 48 were killed in traffic accidents. Thirty-one of those killed with guns were wearing body armor.

There were nine more shooting deaths in 2004 than the previous year.

Authorities solved all but one of the cases in 2004 of officers who were shot to death or otherwise intentionally killed. Thirty-nine suspects were arrested, 11 were killed by police and eight committed suicide, according to the FBI.

Thirty-nine of the 57 officers killed intentionally were on vehicle patrols. Ten were slain while investigating disturbance calls, and 12 were ambushed.

Twenty-seven of the intentional killings and 39 of the 82 accidental deaths took place in the South, by far the deadliest region.

In all cases, the average age of the officer killed was 39 and average level of police experience was 12 years for those killed intentionally and 11 years for those killed accidentally.

Besides the officer deaths, more than 59,000 officers were assaulted in 2004 while performing official duties, with more than 16,000 suffering injuries. Eighty percent of these attacks involved hands, fists and feet.

The report was culled from information submitted by more than 10,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.

Report Summary [Download Report - LEOKA04] [PDF] 4.3 MEG
The FBI publishes Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) each year to provide information about the officers who were killed, feloniously or accidentally, and those officers who were assaulted while performing their duties. Before reviewing the tables, charts, and narrative summaries presented in this publication, readers should be aware of certain features of the LEOKA data collection process that could affect their interpretation of the information. First, the data in the tables and charts reflect the number of victim officers, not the number of incidents or weapons used. Second, the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program considers any part of the body that can be used as weapons (such as hands, fists, or feet) to be personal weapons and designates them as such in its data. Readers should also be aware that law enforcement agencies use different methodologies for collecting and reporting data about officers who were killed and those who were assaulted. As a result, the two databases, and therefore the tables derived from them, are not comparable. Finally, because the information in the tables of this book are updated each year, the FBI cautions readers against making comparisons between the data in this publication and those in prior editions of the publication.

History
Beginning in 1937, the FBI’s UCR Program collected and published statistics on law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in its annual publication, Crime in the United States. Statistics regarding assaults on officers were added in 1960. In June 1971, the law enforcement conference, “Prevention of Police Killings,” resulted in a Presidential directive to increase the FBI’s involvement in preventing and investigating officers’ deaths. In response to this directive, the UCR Program expanded its collection of data to include more details about the incidents in which law enforcement officers were feloniously killed and assaulted.

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Posted by: RPD931

And wear your seatbelt.

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