Following the murder of New York State Trooper Joel Davis while responding to a domestic disturbance call near Fort Drum, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund says 65 law officers have been killed in line of duty in the first half of this year.
The survey covers from January through the end of June. It finds a 30 percent increase in officer deaths over last year, when 50 officers died during the same period.
The most common cause of officer deaths remains traffic accidents, killing 26 officers. Gunfire is the second most common, causing 23 deaths. Sixteen died of job-related illness or accidents such as drowning while trying to save another person.