Police Gunfire Deaths up 24% from last year

[rambone]

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Gun deaths tried to fray the thin blue line in '09


NEW YORK – A police officer is gunned down in his patrol car in Penn Hills, Pa., while waiting for backup. Near Seattle, four officers starting their day at a coffee shop are ambushed by an ex-con with a handgun. Another four officers are shot to death in Oakland, Calif., after a traffic stop gone awry. Across the nation, 2009 was a particularly perilous year for officers involved in gun disputes.

The number of officers killed in the line of duty by gunfire increased 24 percent from 2008, according to preliminary statistics compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a national nonprofit organization that tracks officer-related deaths.

As of Saturday, 47 police officers have died nationwide this year after being shot while on duty, up from 38 for the same time in 2008, which was the lowest number of gunfire deaths since 1956, according to the data.
Over the past decade, small spikes in gunfire deaths have been common, but experts say they are surprised by the number of officers this year who have been specifically targeted by gunmen.

"There's an increasingly desperate population out there," said Eugene O'Donnell, a professor of police studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "Other than in rare cases for ideological reasons, we really haven't seen people taking on the cops head-to-head. Something is amiss. It should be cause for grave concern."

Contributing to this year's spike are cases in which several officers were shot and killed in groups — the four officers last month outside Seattle; the four officers in Oakland, Calif., in March; three officers in Pittsburgh in April; and two officers in Okaloosa County, Fla., in April.

In the Nov. 29 shootings near Seattle, four Lakewood Police Department officers, all in uniform, were sitting with their laptops at a bustling coffee shop when shots rang out. Authorities said the gunman, Maurice Clemmons, spared employees and other customers. Clemmons was later shot to death in a confrontation with another officer, who wasn't harmed.

Clemmons had a violent, erratic past in Washington state and Arkansas. His 108-year prison sentence for armed robbery and other offenses was commuted by then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2000. Six days before the shooting, he had posted bail on charges of raping a child.

In the April 4 shooting in Pittsburgh, suspect Richard Poplawski has been accused by prosecutors of ambushing the three officers when they responded to a domestic disturbance call. Wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with weapons including an AK-47 assault rifle, he started shooting almost immediately after they arrived, authorities said. Poplawski has pleaded not guilty.

In other cases, it's not so clear whether the officers were targeted, or just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oakland officers Mark Dunakin and John Hege were shot and killed during a traffic stop March 21. The suspect fled and barricaded himself in a home, where two SWAT officers were later shot and killed as they tried to enter.

In Penn Hills, Officer Michael Crawshaw was buried Friday, about a week after police say he was gunned down by a parolee wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet on his ankle. Crawshaw was responding to a 911 call of shots fired and was waiting for backup when the suspect came out of the house and opened fire on his patrol car, police said.

The availability of guns compounds the problem, criminologists say. But Pennsylvania, the state with the most gun-related officer deaths so far this year, has among the strictest gun laws in the country, according to a ranking by the pro-gun-control Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Other states, like Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kentucky, have very little oversight and had few, if any, officer gun deaths this year.

Kevin Morison, a spokesman for the Officers Memorial Fund, which keeps the statistics, said he sees people on both sides of the gun debate using the numbers to prove points.

"But folks who are willing to intentionally target police officers seem to be able to find a way to accrue guns regardless of what the laws in those state would be," Morison said.

Overall gunfire deaths have more or less been on a steady decline for decades as more tools become available to keep officers safe. More officers are required to wear bullet-resistant vests. There's also better and faster medical care to save an officer's life.

In 1973, during a heyday of corruption and crime, there were around 600,000 officers and about 156 gunfire deaths. Currently, there are about 900,000 law enforcement officers nationwide and only 47 gunfire deaths this year — a per-capita decrease of nearly 21 percent.

Despite the increase in the number of gunfire deaths from 2008, there have been fewer overall officer deaths so far this year: 117, compared with 125 last year, according to the statistics. The major reason is that traffic deaths are down 24 percent.

"The chances of being killed in the line of duty are lower than they have been in modern times," Morison said. "But no one is immune to the dangers of the job."

 

[mrjarrell]

In 1973, during a heyday of corruption and crime, there were around 600,000 officers and about 156 gunfire deaths. Currently, there are about 900,000 law enforcement officers nationwide and only 47 gunfire deaths this year — a per-capita decrease of nearly 21 percent.

Despite the increase in the number of gunfire deaths from 2008, there have been fewer overall officer deaths so far this year: 117, compared with 125 last year, according to the statistics. The major reason is that traffic deaths are down 24 percent.

Doesn't this negate the entire premise of the article and show that it's a lie? There were fewer deaths than last year. While any no deaths would be preferable, this is just a scare piece and propaganda to further increase the numbers of police on the streets, even as crime continues to go down.

 

[R3ydium]

Interesting read.

So if LODD's (by gunfire) were at a record setting low, and then increase by 24%, wouldn't that make the overall number still at a pretty low point?

When I was trying out for the Fire Department, I did a lot of research on Death Rates in public service. Fire Fighters, and Police Officers Weren't even in the top 10 list in the three year period I pulled, and most LODD's are health related.

 

[dross]

Doesn't this negate the entire premise of the article and show that it's a lie? There were fewer deaths than last year. While any no deaths would be preferable, this is just a scare piece and propaganda to further increase the numbers of police on the streets, even as crime continues to go down.

Yes. In fact, it makes the exact opposite point. I love the way reporters use numbers.

Statistically, only a very small number of readers go past the first few lines. This gives the reporter deniability for being unfair - after all, he included all the facts, right? It's just that the tiny little fact that destroys his entire argument is at the very tippy end. This is what passes for journalism.

 

[R3ydium]

Yes. In fact, it makes the exact opposite point. I love the way reporters use numbers.

 

[DJDan]

Thank you for posting this. This is pretty interesting to say the least.

 

[JohnP82]

I am not in anyway trying to take away from the horrible trajedy of an officer getting hurt or killed in the line of duty which is truely sad. I do however feel it is wrong the way the reporters try to twist things to make society look so terrible.

 

[groovatron]

quote "In 1973, during a heyday of corruption and crime, there were around 600,000 officers and about 156 gunfire deaths. Currently, there are about 900,000 law enforcement officers nationwide and only 47 gunfire deaths this year - per-capita decrease of nearly 21 percent."


Not only is it contradicting, but also mathematically erroneuos. Given the numbers above, I come up with a per capita decrease of 80%.

156 x 1.5 = 234
47 is approx 1/5 of 234....also known as 20% of 234. When something goes from 100% to 20%, that would be a decrease of 80%.

The current increased LEO death from gunfire is nothing to be alarmed about. At least not anymore than usual. I was actually suprised the number was as low as it is.........80% though...now that's a spectacular difference!

 

[Denny347]

quote "In 1973, during a heyday of corruption and crime, there were around 600,000 officers and about 156 gunfire deaths. Currently, there are about 900,000 law enforcement officers nationwide and only 47 gunfire deaths this year - per-capita decrease of nearly 21 percent."


Not only is it contradicting, but also mathematically erroneuos. Given the numbers above, I come up with a per capita decrease of 80%.

156 x 1.5 = 234
47 is approx 1/5 of 234....also known as 20% of 234. When something goes from 100% to 20%, that would be a decrease of 80%.

The current increased LEO death from gunfire is nothing to be alarmed about. At least not anymore than usual. I was actually suprised the number was as low as it is.........80% though...now that's a spectacular difference!

Yet, stangely enough I have had 2 friends get shot to death and 3 that were shot but thankfully lived. One was hit square in his vest and 2 were shot in the head. That is not counting the many times officers I know take active fire or someone trying to shoot them. I think the probability varies depending on the city and department and while low nationwide will increase in the larger cities and even moreso in the rough areas of those cites.

 

[antsi]

Yes. In fact, it makes the exact opposite point. I love the way reporters use numbers.

They are notoriously bad at statistics and trend analysis. In the third paragraph, they say that 2008 was unusually low. A higher number in 2009 hardly indicates a long term increasing trend - it could easily be an overall downward trend.

Back in my college days I was an intern at a newspaper. We were in a meeting discussing, among other things, what the editorial would be. They wanted to run an editorial that cited a study of autopsies of truck drivers killed in accidents, which found that 1/3 of the truck drivers bodies recovered from crashes had etoh or drugs on board. Based on this, they wanted to say "It's scary to drive down the highway and think that 1/3 of the 18 wheelers you see have a drunk driver behind the wheel." I tried to explain to them about representative samples, that the truck drivers who crashed and died are not representative of all the drivers on the road, and you would in fact expect a much higher rate of drugs/etoh among the drivers who crashed than among drivers as a whole. They all just stared at me like I was speaking Martian. Not a single person in the whole room was able to comprehend this point. They ran the editorial, just the way it was written.

 

[kludge]

Your logic didn't fit their preconcieved notion.

 

[groovatron]

Yet, stangely enough I have had 2 friends get shot to death and 3 that were shot but thankfully lived. One was hit square in his vest and 2 were shot in the head. That is not counting the many times officers I know take active fire or someone trying to shoot them. I think the probability varies depending on the city and department and while low nationwide will increase in the larger cities and even moreso in the rough areas of those cites.

Wow, that's unfortunate and tragic. I am truly sorry to here that. With the numbers, your two friends accounted for 4.1% of police gunfire deaths this year. I hope that it is just coincidence and you and your partners stay safe in the upcoming years. I celebrate the lives of those who have sacrificed everything for the common man. Rest in peace.