By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON — Law enforcement fatalities — which included the recent murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona — jumped 40 percent in 2010 compared to last year, according to preliminary data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
The spike, from 160 deaths in 2010 compared to 117 the year before, came after a two-year decline.
Traffic fatalities, as in the past, continued to be the leading cause of officer deaths, with 73 officers killed in the line of duty. That figure represented a 43 percent increase over last year, according to National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF).
Fifty-nine officers were fatally shot this year, up 20 percent from the 49 in 2009. Of the 59, 12 were shot in ambush attacks.
Earlier this month, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was shot and killed along the Arizona-Mexico border by suspected bandits. A group of people have been arrested in the case.
“A more brazen, cold-blooded criminal element is on the prowl in America, and they don’t think twice about killing a cop,” said NLEOMF Chairman Craig W. Floyd.
