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| Number of Police Officers Killed in the Line of Duty Increases |
The number of police officers who have died in the line of duty this year in Illinois is five.
That number is around normal; the average for the last 10 years is 4 1/2. Being a cop is a dangerous job, but less than it once was, says Craig Floyd, chairman of the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. He says the odds of a police officer dying in the line of duty are 1 in 6,000, but 30 years ago it was 1 in 1,500.
Bulletproof vests are the main reason it's safer being a cop these days, though nationally, more officers die in traffic accidents than any other way. The number of police line-of-duty fatalities this year is 137, through last week. This is the lowest number since 1965.
The five Illinois officers who died this year:
* Richard M. Francis, Chicago Police, July 2, shot and killed with his own gun by a suspect after responding to a disturbance call.
* Oliver Mason, Venice Police, Aug. 24, died of a heart attack while on his way to pick up a prisoner.
* Joseph M. Airhart Jr., Chicago Police, Nov. 4, was shot while attempting to arrest a robbery suspect during an FBI raid in 2001. He was in a coma for two months and was thereafter unable to walk, eat or breathe without assistance. He died of his wounds this year. The offender is serving life in prison.
* Nathaniel Taylor Jr., Chicago Police, Sept. 28, shot and killed while attempting to serve a search warrant on a suspect’s residence.
* Frank Russo, Schaumburg Police, Nov. 1, suffered a heart attack while chasing a suspect on foot. This is the first line-of-duty police death in the 52-year history of the City of Schaumburg .
Police officer deaths in Illinois over the last decade:
2008 – 5
2007 – 2
2006 – 8
2005 – 4
2004 – 7
2003 – 3
2002 – 5
2001 – 8
2000 – 4
1999 – 3
1998 – 1
(Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 12 28 08 by Newsroom |
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