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In last month’s article, I wrote about police suicide, and some may have been bewildered to learn that more than 400 police officers kill themselves during a typical year. In this offering, I’ll discuss a demon that claims fewer lives than suicide, but one that plays a major role in causing more serious and fatal injuries to cops than even the most dangerous of armed assailants…the modern motor vehicle.

Although it would be impossible for the law enforcement community to function anywhere near its current level of efficiency without them, automobiles serve the profession as both friend and foe. When operated safely by officers and civilians, the motorized conveyance is a marvel of technology. But when it’s pushed beyond the operational limit of man or machine, the vehicle can become a sinister thief…and lives are what it often steals. Consider as examples these tragedies occurring in 2003:

En route to a reported home invasion robbery in progress, a 26-year-old Georgia deputy was killed when he lost control of his patrol car on a rain-slicked roadway, causing it to flip and strike a tree. It took rescuers nearly an hour to extricate the young man from the wreckage. The robbery, as it turned out, was an intoxicated man trying to break into what he thought was his own house…it was his neighbor’s.

A 21-year-old female officer in Ohio died after being ejected from her patrol car when it collided with a fellow officer’s cruiser at an intersection. Both were responding to a bar fight.

In Tennessee, a police sergeant and a deputy sheriff, both 15-year law enforcement veterans, were struck and killed by a vehicle being pursued by other officers as the two attempted to deploy stop sticks near a freeway off ramp.

Crunching Numbers
The 2003 numbers are in, and there is some good news to report: fewer law enforcement officers died in the line of duty last year than in recent ones. In fact, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page (www.odmp.org) the ’03 total ties the 1996 tally, and the last year during which fewer officers perished was 1965, when 133 police lives were lost.* Nonetheless, it’s hard to rejoice in the fact that 146 cops suffered duty-related deaths across the nation last year.

As you might have guessed based on the focus of this article, more officers were killed in auto-related occurrences than in felonious assaults.

Of the 146 deaths last year, 78 were the result of occurrences involving vehicles

42 lives were lost in auto accidents
12 officers suffered fatal injuriesas a result of vehicle pursuits
10 deaths were attributed to vehicular assaults
7 officers died after being unintentionally struck by cars.
7 officers lost their lives to on duty motorcycle crashes.

By comparison, only 47 cops were murdered by gunfire.

America has been a motorized society since the early part of the twentieth century, and auto-related police death is not a new phenomena. According to the recently released 2002 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Study, in the 10-year period between 1993 and 2002, 681 cops were killed accidentally. Of those deaths, 381 were the result of automobile accidents, accounting for 55.9% of the total. During this ten-year span, 111 officers died after being struck by vehicles - 73 of them while directing traffic or assisting motorists and 38 others while effecting traffic stops or participating in roadblocks. Motorcycle crashes accounted for 49 of the 381 accidental deaths during this period.

Reducing the Risks
While there’s no simple method to prevent these types of tragedies, there certainly are some things officers can do to reduce the risks. Most importantly, acknowledge that you are not immortal. Recognize the inherent dangers of all vehicle-related tasks, and realize that driving a car is one of the most dangerous things you’ll do as a law enforcement officer.

Slow Down
Regardless of the urgency of the situation that you’re responding to, slow down and arrive alive! Your emergency lights and siren may do little more than startle and befuddle the typical driver. Expect that many will react with an erratic maneuver that will further endanger you and other motorists. The bottom line: better to arrive a minute or two later than to be involved in a crash en route.

Seek Safer Conditions for Stops
Attempt to make all vehicle stops at a location where the roadway widens, or where you can direct the violator onto a side street or into a nearby parking lot. You can notify dispatch of the violation when you observe it and initiate the stop a few minutes thereafter where safer conditions exist for both you and the motorist. Consider a passenger side approach. Not only will you have an enhanced ability to observe the actions of the car’s driver and other occupants, you’ll also distance yourself from high speed, and often impaired, rubberneckers. And if a deadly threat materializes from within the violator vehicle, you can move away from it without inadvertently dashing into a busy traffic lane.

Be Visible
While directing traffic at any time of the day or night, wear a brightly-colored reflectorized vest or jacket – even if you have to purchase it yourself. Use your vehicle’s lighting systems and road flares to alert motorists of your presence. And if at all possible, use two-officer teams on traffic control points so that someone is always watching your back.

Though roadblocks are prohibited in many states, they are sometimes utilized in an effort to bring a halt to high speed pursuits. If a suspect is so desperate as to risk life and limb to flee, anticipate that he’s willing to ram police cars and run over cops to escape. Don’t make yourself an easy target.

For More Information
I strongly urge everyone to obtain the annual ‘LEOKA Report’ - Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted study. With a quick call to the Department of Justice at 304-625-4995, it’ll be in your mail box within the week. Use the document to increase your personal knowledge and awareness. It’s also a great source of information for roll-call training. I also suggest that every officer frequently visit the Officer Down Memorial Page to educate themselves on the events that claim so many police lives each year.

A Sad Postscript
The new year has begun like the last one ended: with the law enforcement community suffering tragic loses. Just before 1:00 p.m. on January 2nd, two Athens, Alabama police officers were gunned down as they arrived on the scene of an unknown trouble call. The suspect, a 28-year-old man with a history of mental illness and drug abuse, shot both officers multiple times with a high-powered rifle when they parked their patrol cars in front of the house where he lived with his mother. Later that same afternoon in Putnam County, Indiana, a 32-year sheriff’s department veteran died while responding to a minor traffic collision. The 62-year-old Captain lost control of his patrol car in a curve, causing the vehicle to land upside down in a rain-swollen creek, trapping him inside. Unfortunately, the deadly day was not yet done. At about 6:45 p.m., a Richmond County, Georgia, Deputy Sheriff was thrown thirty-five feet when he was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic at an accident scene. The 46-year-old deputy succumbed to his injuries two days later.

Deadly projectiles, some propelled by gunpowder, others by gasoline, continue to steal precious lives.

In the next Live to Retire I’ll begin to focus on the traditional patrol-related tasks that place officers in harm’s way on a daily basis. Until then, honor all public servants who have made the ultimate sacrifice by dedicating yourself to do what you must so that you can “Live to Retire!”

* Annual officer death statistics vary depending upon the source. Another excellent compilation of subject data can be found at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund website: www.nleomf.com

Doyle “D.T.” Wright
"DT" retired from the Riverside County, California, Sheriff’s Department, and since 1998 has traveled throughout the country to provide law enforcement training related to officer survival, high risk warrant planning and execution, police action shootings and tactical response to dynamic events.

If you have an immediate need for information, please contact us by phone at: 317-733-1971 or we can be reached by email at: dtw169@livetoretire.com