Start the countdown
How long will it take the usual suspects to spin this:
Law enforcement organizations reported Tuesday that 154 officers died in the line of duty in 2004, nearly half of them in traffic-related accidents.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Concerns of Police Survivors said the statistics for 2004 were compiled from reports through Dec. 24.
Seventy-two local, state and federal officers died from traffic-related accidents while 57, about one-third, died from shootings, the organizations said. A variety of causes led to the other deaths.
December 28th, 2004 at 4:44 pm
If traffic-related accidents are killing cops, we must ban traffic! Even if we only save one police officer, it will be worth it!
December 28th, 2004 at 6:16 pm
Ah but if we ban traffic, accounting for half the fatalities… then guns would be responsible for over sixty percent of the remaining fatalities… and I find that statistic to have the potential of getting scooped up by an anti-gun campaign.
December 28th, 2004 at 6:59 pm
A considerable portion of all officer saves by bullet-resistant vests involve crashes rather than shootings. Gun writer / cop Mass Ayoob was one of these. I also knew a civilian seriously injured in a crash who would have been helped by one. What they do is prevent the steering wheel from crushing the chest in a severe collision.
December 29th, 2004 at 10:07 pm
That’s interesting, triticale… I’ve considered getting a vest, but not for those reasons.