By Police1 Staff
WASHINGTON — A total of 73 LEOs were killed in the line of duty in the first half of 2018, 31 of which were firearms-related, according to a new report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
On Tuesday, the NLEOMF issued its 2018 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Officer Fatalities Report with preliminary data through June 30, 2018. The report revealed a seven percent increase in LODDs over the same period last year.
Out of the 73 LODDs, 31 LEOs were killed in firearms-related incidents, 27 were killed in traffic-related incidents and 15 died due to other causes such as job-related illnesses.
Firearms-related LODDs were the leading cause of LEO fatalities in the first half of 2018. The 31 firearms-related deaths were a 24 percent increase from the same period in 2017, which had 25.
According to the report, eight of the firearms-related LODDs occurred during arrest attempts . In addition, six LEOs were killed responding to domestic disturbance calls, and three were killed in ambushes.
Traffic-related LODDs also increased slightly in the first half of 2018 compared to the first half of 2017, which had 26 traffic-related LODDs. Fifteen officers died in the line of duty of other causes, the majority of which were job-related. That’s down 17 percent from the 18 deaths attributed to other causes in the first half of 2017.
Florida has the most LODDs in the first half of 2018 with seven deaths. New York, North Carolina and Texas each lost four officers this year.
Read the full report below:
2018+Mid-Year+Law+Enforcement+Fatalities+Report+2018+Mid-Year+Fatalities+Report+8a by Ed Praetorian on Scribd