As an industry that partners with law enforcement and as citizens we should be supportive of the foundation Craig Floyd represents in his message below. In every way possible, we should stand up for their cause, including direct financial support.
— Stan Martin, SIAC Executive Director —
The following is a message from Craig Floyd, Chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund:
“We just released our annual law enforcement fatality report for 2010. Unfortunately, it contains a lot of bad news. Based on preliminary data, law enforcement fatalities for 2010 totaled 162. This is a 38% increase over the 117 officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in 2009. Firearms-related fatalities were up more than 20% for the second year in a row, and traffic-related incidents jumped 43% for the year. Click on the following link to view more details: http://www.nleomf.org/newsroom/news-releases/alarming-rise-in-2010-law.html.
“You may notice a slight discrepancy in the numbers in our report. Right after we issued this report stating that 160 officers had died in 2010, we learned of another Georgia State Trooper, Chadwick LeCroy, who was shot and killed late on Monday night. That brought the number of deaths to 161 and the number shot and killed to 60 for the year. Then, this morning, we were greeted with the tragic news that an officer in Arlington, TX had been shot and killed during a domestic violence call—a grim reminder that, on average, an officer is killed somewhere in America every 53 hours.
“This report is alarming to say the least, but I know it will inspire you to work even harder with us next year to promote law enforcement safety and bring these shocking numbers down! Thanks for all of your support and please know that we will ensure that these fallen heroes—and their families—are forever honored and remembered.”