In the context of the shooting today of a police officer at Virginia Tech, I wanted to look at statistics for law enforcement killings, including the cause of death.
Given the surprising data in 2010 of a 37% jump in the deaths of law enforcement officers in 2010, reported
here, I was curious to see what those statistics were (so far anyway) for 2011. Given the lax gun regulation, it should not be a surprise that Florida and Texas lead the list. An increase as of mid-year of 12% (so far) of law enforcement officers deaths by firearms should be considered against the decline in crime overall in considering the impact of firearms on our society.
From the
National Law Enforcement Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund web site:
Preliminary 2011 Fatality Statistics
Law Enforcement Officer Fatalities
Preliminary 2011 Numbers
December 8, 2011
| 2011 | 2010 | % Change |
| Total Fatalities | 162 | 145 | +12% |
| Firearms-related | 58 | 52 | +12% |
| Traffic-related | 60 | 69 | -13% |
| Other Causes | 44 | 24 | +83% |
Please note: These numbers reflect total officer fatalities comparing December 8, 2011 to December 8, 2010. |
2011 Fatalities by State
| Texas | 13 | | |
| Florida | 12 | | |
| New York | 10 | | |
| California | 9 | | |
| Georgia | 9 | | |
| Ohio | 7 | | |
| Tennessee | 7 | | |
| North Carolina | 7 | | |
| Louisiana | 5 | | |
| Missouri | 5 | | |
| New Jersey | 5 | | |
| Michigan | 5 | | |
| Arizona | 4 | | |
| Alabama | 3 | | |
| Oregon | 3 | | |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | | |
| South Carolina | 3 | | |
| South Dakota | 3 | | |
| Virginia | 3 | | |
| Colorado | 2 | | |
| Hawaii | 2 | | |
| Illinois | 2 | | |
| Indiana | 2 | | |
| Iowa | 2 | | |
| Kentucky | 2 | | |
| Maryland | 2 | | |
| Mississippi | 2 | | |
| North Dakota | 2 | | |
| Oklahoma | 2 | | |
| Washington | 2 | | |
| Arkansas | 1 | | |
| Delaware | 1 | | |
| District of Columbia | 1 | | |
| Kansas | 1 | | |
| Maine | 1 | | |
| Massachusetts | 1 | | |
| Minnesota | 1 | | |
| Nebraska | 1 | | |
| Wisconsin | 1 | | |
| Wyoming | 1 | | |
Federal Agencies: 10
U.S. Territories: 3
Note: All data are preliminary and are subject to change. |
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