WASHINGTON — Firearms-related fatalities among law enforcement have increased by 78 percent in the first half of 2016, according to a new report released by the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.
Locally, three law enforcement officers were killed in Maryland and and another three in Virginia so far this year. There have been no such deaths in D.C. in the first six months of the year.
Overall, preliminary data reveals that 67 law enforcement officers have been killed in the United States from January 1 to July 20 of this year, which is an 8 percent increase over the same time period last year.
Among firearms-related deaths, ambush-style killings of law enforcement officers have increased the most — more than 300 percent from the same period in 2015. Fourteen officers were shot and killed in ambushes, seven officers were killed stopping a suspicious person and five officers were killed while executing a tactical arrest or high-risk warrants.
While fatalities involving firearms was the leading cause of law enforcement deaths this year, traffic-related incidents was the second leading cause with 24 officers killed this year, which is a 17 percent decrease over the same time period last year.
Eleven officers died due to other causes such as job-related illnesses in the first half of 2016, compared to 16 officer deaths during the same time last year, which is a 31 percent decrease. Heart attacks were the cause of six officer deaths, two officers fell to their death, one officer died in an aircraft crash, one officer was beaten to death and one officer drowned.
Established in 1984, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to telling the story of American law enforcement and making it safer for those who serve.
Prince George’s County Officer Jacai Colson was among the officers killed in an ambush so far this year. He was struck by another officer’s gunfire when a man began shooting at officers and passersby at a police station in Landover in March.
Two Harford County sheriff’s deputies were killed responding to a call at a Panera in Abingdon in February.
Prince William County Officer Ashley Guindon was shot and killed on her first day on the job in February.
A Virginia state trooper was killed at a Greyhound bus station in late March.
Arlington County Corporal Harvey Snook died in January of a Sept. 11-related illness, according to the memorial fund.
