Shootings, Auto Accidents Cited as Leading Causes of Death
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the year 2003, 148 law enforcement officers across the nation were killed in the line of duty, representing the second year in a row that the number has been well below the decade-long average of 166 annual police deaths.
The 142 male and six female officers who died worked in 38 of our nation’s 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and one federal agency.
According to the 2003 “Fallen Heroes Report” released jointly by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the Concerns of Police Survivors, the states with the highest number of officer fatalities were: California (18); Georgia (10); Texas (10); Virginia (8); and Florida, Louisiana, and Tennessee (7).
California saw the greatest increase in officer fatalities with an increase of eight from the pervious year. The most significant drop in officer fatalities was experienced by federal law enforcement with nine fewer deaths in 2003 than in 2002. The 148 officers killed in 2003 matched the fatality figure recorded in 2002.
Of the 148 officers killed during 2003, preliminary data shows that 53 died in automobile accidents; 52 were shot to death; 13 were struck by automobiles while on duty outside their vehicles; 11 died in motorcycle accidents; six succumbed to job-related illnesses; four drowned; two suffered fatal beatings; two fell to their deaths; one was stabbed to death; one died in an aircraft accident; one was electrocuted; one was strangled; and one was hit by a train.
“The Memorial Fund is committed to honoring every fallen police officer,” said NLEOMF Chairman Craig W. Floyd. “Yet, as we honor those fallen heroes from the past, we must also look to the future and demand the safest possible working conditions for our law officers. We must give our law enforcement agencies the necessary financial resources, staffing levels, safety equipment and training to safely and effectively respond to conventional crime and to combat the growing threat of terrorism. This should include less-than-lethal weaponry so officers are given more choices than simply kill or be killed when confronting dangerous felons.”
“Every U.S. law enforcement officer fatality is a national tragedy,” said Linda Hintergardt-Soubirous, President of COPS. “COPS pays tribute to those brave men and women who made the supreme sacrifice and, in our 20th year of service, as in years past, promises to provide healing, love and life renewed to their surviving families and affected coworkers as well.”
Dating back to the first known law enforcement fatality in 1792, there have been more than 16,000 federal, state and local officers killed in the United States. All of those names are inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, which is located in Washington, D.C. The names of the officers killed in 2003 will be formally added to that Memorial at a candlelight vigil on May 13.
The NLEOMF is now in the process of building a National Law Enforcement Museum across the street from the Memorial to tell the history of law enforcement in America, including the individual tales of these fallen heroes.
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund - Supporting the law enforcement profession by permanently recording and appropriately commemorating the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers.
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All cases of fallen officers are reviewed based on strict criteria prior to inclusion by National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. This in no way implies that a particular name will appear on the Memorial Wall.