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19-year Arvada, Colo., police veteran Gordon Beesley 

marked another loss for the law enforcement community. Beesley was killed along with two other people 

during a shooting at a downtown shopping district

is the fourth Colorado police officer to die

The rate of on-the-job fatalities for police is higher this year than it was at this time in 2020, according to an organization that tracks law enforcement deaths.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reports 

that as of June 21, a total of 151 total deaths were recorded 

— an 11 percent jump over last year. The number includes federal, state, military, tribal and local law enforcement officer deaths. 

The largest share of that rise is due to traffic-related fatalities. There have already been 36 officers killed in traffic, compared with 25 at this point last year — a rise of 44 percent.

Traffic-related deaths include collisions with other vehicles, single-vehicle crashes, motorcycle crashes, and incidents in which officers are struck by vehicles.

An increase in traffic deaths has been seen in the general public as well: U.S. traffic deaths 

, even as fewer people drove to work during the pandemic.

Traffic poses the biggest threat to officers

Car crashes and other traffic-related incidents pose the biggest threat to police officers, 

to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the memorial fund.

More than 800 officers died as a result of these incident from 2006 to 2019. That's 43% of all line-of-duty deaths. 

The CDC says behavior-related hazards put officers at particular risk for traffic-related injuries or death on the job. These include not wearing a seat belt, speeding, being distracted while on a device while driving, or experiencing tunnel vision from increased stress. 

Coronavirus infections were the leading cause of death for police officers last year, according to reports. In 2020, 295 officers in total died, with 

dying from COVID-19, according to the memorial fund. 

That marked a 300 percent increase in a cause of death unrelated

 to firearms or car crashes, the organization said. 

The memorial fund marks "other causes," which account for illnesses or medical emergencies such as heart attacks or strokes at work, for resulting in the death of 88 police officers so far this year.

the leading cause of line-of-duty law enforcement officer deaths was fatal shootings

, according to the memorial fund. A reported 528 men and women police officers were shot and killed during those years. 

 2020 saw the most law enforcement deaths 

The FBI ties much of that to the rise of gangs following the passage of Prohibition in the U.S. in 1920. Law enforcement agencies were "outgunned" and ill-prepared to take on massive gang operations across the country and the rise of the New York Mafia, 

"By the early 1930s, cities like St. Paul, Minnesota, had become virtual training grounds for young crooks, while Hot Springs, Arkansas, had turned into a safe haven and even a vacation spot for the criminal underworld," the FBI said.  "More often than not, local police forces were hobbled by the lack of modern tools and training."

NPR reporter Laurel Wamsley contributed to this report.

Crime, Law and Justice

Jaclyn Diaz

Author

Last year, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death for officer fatalities. This year, traffic fatalities among officers are up 44 percent.

A rise in traffic fatalities leads to spike in law enforcement officer deaths

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