Number of U.S. police officers killed in 2017 near 50-year low
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According to a report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 128 officers died in 2017 - a 10 percent decrease from 2016, when 141 officers died.
Of the 128 deaths, 44 were related to firearms and 47 were traffic-related. Texas, New York, Florida and California were the states with the largest totals of deaths
Officer deaths have nearly hit a 50-year low, with the only other year with fewer deaths being 2013 - when 113 authorities were killed.
"After three consecutive years of rising deaths in the law enforcement profession, this year's decline offered some encouraging news," Craig Floyd, chief executive of the memorial fund, said in a news release.
"Sadly, though, the 128 officers who lost their lives in 2017 reminds us that public safety comes at a very steep price and we must never take the service and sacrifice of our policing professionals for granted, nor should we ever forget the officers who died and their families." ■