Law officer deaths in 2013 fall to lowest in 54 years

[thoughtone]

source: USA Today

Law officer deaths in 2013 fall to lowest in 54 years

Deaths in firearms-related incidents drop to the lowest since 1887


The number of fatalities of U.S. law enforcement officers in 2013 is the lowest in 54 years and the number dying in firearms-related incidents is the lowest since the 1800s, according to a preliminary report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

According to the NLEOMF, 111 federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty nationwide in 2013. This was the fewest for the law enforcement profession since 1959 when 110 officers died. This also represents an 8 per cent drop from 2012, when 121 officers died.


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The chart from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund shows the lowest number in 54 years.(Photo: NLEOMF)

</aside> The primary cause for officer fatalities this year was traffic-related incidents, which claimed 46 lives.

Firearms-related incidents accounted for 33 deaths, a drop of one-third over 2012 and the lowest since 1887 when 27 officers were shot to death, the NLEOMF reports.

Thirty-two officers died of other causes in 2013, including 14 who suffered heart attacks while on duty.

The organization credits the decrease to safety measures installed after 2011 when fatalities soared to 169. These included an increase in the number of agencies requiring officers to wear bullet-resistant vests and the formation of the National Officer Safety and Wellness Group by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The NLEOMF is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1984.

 

[thoughtone]

source: Mediaite

Unbelievable: Baltimore Police Sent Warning to NYPD… by Fax

There are certain technologies that are well past their expiration date: The 8-Track player, beepers, the Boom Box…each all had their day, but those days long gone.

Included in that list is the fax machine. Believe it or not, this was once seen as cutting edge technology…back in the 1970s, anyway. Per Ben Fong-Torres, fictional Rolling Stone editor in the classic Almost Famous when instructing the film’s teenage protagonist how to send his story and notes “quickly” from across the country:

“There’s a mojo at the Daily News they’ll let us use. It’s a very modern machine that transmits pages over the telephone. It only takes eighteen minutes a page….”

Fast forward 40 years later, where it was revealed today that the Baltimore County Police Department sent a fax–yes, a fax–to the NYPD warning them of Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley possibly coming their way. You know the rest: Brinsley–who already shot and wounded his girlfriend hours earlier in Baltimore–heads north to Brooklyn and ambushes two officers–Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos sitting in their marked car in what was an execution without provocation. Shocking, disturbing, revolting…take your pick; It was an assassination committed in broad daylight in one of the most populated cities in the country. The aftereffects will be felt for months and potentially years to come.

Authorities in Maryland say they were altered of statements on social media indicating Brinsley planned to kill police officers because he upset about the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases out of Ferguson and Staten Island, respectively. But here’s the most frustrating part: Reports now say that warning fax (with a photo of Brinsley) from Baltimore County came just one minute after the two officers were assassinated. Think about that: One minute.

Why exactly Baltimore County authorities couldn’t…say–pick up a phone or–you know…send an email instead is beyond comprehension. Were they playing Space Invaders on their Ataris at the time? Was the wheel on the rotary dial on said phone not working? Was the warning sent via that fax written on a typewriter? Who faxes anything in 2004, let alone 2014?

Two officers might have been saved yesterday. But instead, it’s clear that at least one police department is in serious need of re-training on basic process, along with a technological overhaul in general.

A fax? Really?



Morse code might have worked faster.