Click here for other important messages

Click on Golfer for FORM

Click on Golfer for application

24th Annual RI State FOP Raymond C. Pezzullo Scholarship Golf Tournament Form AVAILABLE SOON

2012 Raymond C. Pezzullo Scholarship application is NOW AVAILABLE !

Please Notice the NEW Video of a Police Officers BAD DAY

Click on the lights to see the video

Read The Latest Information On Line Of Duty Fatalities click here please

Click the badge to find out about law enforcement suffering more heart attacks than any other profession

The Rhode Island State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police Represents Concerns and Issues of Men and Women serving in the Rhode Island Law Enforcement Community
Note: You must have Java Enabled to see all the features of this site

Line of Duty Deaths Article

Line-of-Duty Deaths rise 37% this Year                                                                    01/04/2011

WASHINGTON, DC — The number of law officers killed in the line of duty across the United States jumped 37% this year, reversing two consecutive years of steep declines, according to a report released Monday by a national police advocacy group.

The deaths of 160 officers in 2010 includes a 20% increase in fatal shootings that involved five cases in which at least two officers were killed by gunfire in single incidents in Arkansas, California, Florida and Puerto Rico, a survey by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund found.

Fatal shootings jumped from 49 in 2009, to 59 in 2010, marking the second straight year in which gunfire deaths increased by at least 20%. Meanwhile, traffic-related deaths — the leading cause of work-related death for police — increased from

51 in 2009, to 73 this year, according to the report.

The increases in all major categories marked a striking turnaround from 2009 when the 117 officer fatalities represented a

50-year low, according to the police group.

Craig Floyd, chairman of the memorial fund which closely tracks officer deaths, suggests the rise in fatalities represents "troubling signs" that officer layoffs and other public safety budget cutbacks due to the lagging economy are "putting officers at risk."

"The budget cutbacks mean less training and fewer available resources, like replacing cars when you need to," Floyd says. "Hopefully, these numbers will be a warning signal."

Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation's largest police union, says there is no clear evidence that a reduction in force or resources is behind the spike in fatalities.

"I really think that at the end of the day, this is a reflection of the cyclical nature of this kind of violence," he says.

In the past five years, the officer fatality numbers have varied up and down, reaching a recent high of 185 in 2007.

One of the most recent casualties was recorded Sunday when a Massachusetts officer was shot to death during an alleged armed robbery at a department store.

"A more brazen, cold-blooded criminal element is on the prowl in America," Floyd says. "And they don't think twice about killing a cop."

Johnson, Kevin. "Line-of-Duty Deaths rise 37% this Year." USA TODAY. December 29,2010. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-12-28-policedeaths28_ST_N.htm