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Police Deaths Fall In 2012; Colorado Ranks Third In Nation

deltaMike
/
Flickr - Creative Commons

The number of law enforcement officers who died on the job decreased this year by nearly 23 percent compared to 2011. In Colorado, 6 police officers died in the the line of duty.

That's the third highest tally in the nation following only Texas' 10 deaths and Georgia's 8.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reports that across the nation 127 federal, state and local officers were killed on the job in 2012.  There were 165 deaths in 2011 and 154 in 2010.

The most common cause of death for police officer is traffic accidents followed by shootings.

2012 Fatalities by State

  • Texas – 10
  • Georgia – 8
  • Colorado – 6
  • Maryland – 6
  • Florida – 5
  • Louisiana – 5
  • North Carolina – 5
  • Pennsylvania – 5
  • Kentucky – 5
  • Massachusetts – 4
  • Ohio – 4
  • Oklahoma – 4
  • Alabama – 3
  • Illinois – 3
  • Michigan – 3
  • New York – 3
  • West Virginia – 3
  • Arizona – 2
  • California – 2
  • Hawaii – 2
  • Indiana – 2
  • Kansas – 2
  • Nevada – 2
  • Tennessee – 2
  • Utah – 2
  • Virginia – 2
  • Wisconsin – 2
  • Arkansas – 1
  • Connecticut – 1
  • Minnesota – 1
  • Mississippi – 1
  • Missouri – 1
  • New Hampshire – 1
  • New Jersey – 1
  • New Mexico – 1
  • Rhode Island – 1
  • South Carolina – 1
  • Washington – 1
  • Federal Agencies – 9
  • U.S. territories – 6
My journalism career started in college when I worked as a reporter and Weekend Edition host for WEKU-FM, an NPR member station in Richmond, KY. I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a B.A. in broadcast journalism.
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