Deaths in the line of duty jumped 37 percent to about 160 from 117 the year before, according to numbers as of Tuesday compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit that tracks police deaths.
The first reaction is "of course" because this is what happens in an economic downturn. People are mad, and sometimes they take it out on others. This can be directly aimed at the police but can also create other dangerous situations that ultimately impact the police (e.g., robbery, domestic violence).
But amazingly part of the problem is more police dying in traffic. From the article:
"We're asking citizens not to talk and text on their cell phones, but we're providing officers with laptop computers and cell phones and radios," he said. "That means taking their attention from the road. Are we putting too many distractions in police vehicles?"
Seriously. Hang up the phone and drive. And use the computer when you are parked. Duh.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101228/ap_on_re_us/us_police_deaths
Dr. Robinson, I couldn't agree more... and I'm a Cop! But with that being said, of the 162 deaths so far in 2010, only 50 officers were killed in automobile accidents. And of those 50, how many were actually due to the officer's negligence and/or distractions? I don't know the answer to that question and although I'm sure a good number of them were, certainly the cause of a few must have been attributed to something or someone other than the officer.
ReplyDeleteI just wish LOD deaths were as easy to "fix" as taking cell phones and computers out of our cars. But sadly, they are not.
Most Sincerely,
Kj
KJ
ReplyDeleteGood point.
It is just a pet peeve of mine, and I cannot believe even police do it!