Law enfoecement

Law enforcement deaths down 10 percent in 2017

The number of law enforcement professionals nationwide who died in the line of duty in 2017 dropped to its lowest level in four years, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF).

Florida had nine officer fatalities in 2017, a number that tied with New York's, as Texas led the list with 14.

California had seven, and Georgia and North Carolina each had six, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), a nonprofit group that tracks officer fatalities.

The number of law enforcement professionals nationwide who died in the line of duty in 2017 dropped to its lowest level in four years, the NLEOMF said.

"After three consecutive years of rising deaths in the law enforcement profession, this year’s decline offered some encouraging news," said NLEOMF CEO Craig W. Floyd. "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."