More law enforcement officers were shot and killed in the line of duty in 2018 than last year, driving a 12 percent overall increase in the number of officers who died on the job, according to preliminary data from The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
“Firearms-related fatalities were the leading cause of officer deaths, with 52 officers shot and killed in 2018,” the NLEOMF says. That’s a rise from 2017, when guns were involved in 46 officer deaths.
The group adds that handguns accounted for the majority of those incidents.
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