Police deaths on the rise, FBI says

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The killing of Springfield Police Officer Kevin Ambrose is a tragic part of a growing trend; the number of police officers killed in the line-of-duty is on the increase.

According to statistics recently released by the FBI , 72 police officers were killed by suspects in the line-of-duty last year; that is 16 more officers than were killed in 2010. In fact, in 2011, more police officers were killed by suspects than were killed in accidents (50 died in accidents that year.)

The statistic marks the highest number of officer deaths in nearly 20 years (not counting in terrorist attacks).
The FBI has not yet determined what is behind the increase in line-of-duty killings, but Attorney General Eric Holder has announced a new federal safety initiative designed to find solutions to this troubling increase.

Among those killed last year, one was in Massachusetts; Woburn Police Officer John Maguire , who was fatally shot while he was responding to a break-in at a Kohl’s Department Store. Here in western Massachusetts, the tragedy of a line-of-duty police killing had not happened since 1999, when Holyoke Police Officer John DiNapoli was murdered by Eddie Morales.

Ambrose’s death marks the first line-of-duty killing of a Springfield police officer since 1985, when Officers Alain Beauregard and Michael Schiavina were fatally shot.