Number Of Officers Killed In The Line Of Duty In 2017 Lowest In 50 Years

By Tom Knighton

Being a police officer is a challenging job. After all, there are people who want you dead simply because of the outfit you put on before going to work. Further, you’re actually required to do things that are going to anger some folks. Both of those situations ramps up the risk of officers being murdered pretty darn high.

However, 2017 is shaping up to have the fewest officers killed in the line of duty in half a century.

The number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty dropped sharply in 2017, marking the second-lowest toll in more than 50 years.

As of Thursday, 128 officers have died in the line of duty this year, with 44 shot and killed. That’s down 10% from 2016, when 143 officers died, with 66 gunned down, according to data released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit aimed at honoring officers and improving safety.

The only other year with fewer deaths in the past five decades was 2013, when 116 officers were killed.

“This is one of those good-news, bad-news situations,” said Craig Floyd, president and chief executive of the fund. “On one hand, you had 128 officers who made …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms