(Photo: MGN)WASHINGTON (WBOC/AP)- The FBI announced Monday that 72 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty last year, up from 56 the year before.
The FBI's annual report, "Law Enforcement officers Killed and Assaulted, 2011," also noted that an additional 53 officers died in accidents, and 54,774 officers were assaulted in the line of duty.
The average age of officers killed in the line of duty was 38.
Of the 72 slayings, 23 were in arrest situations, 15 were ambushed, 11 were in traffic pursuits or stops, and nine were in tactical situations. The majority (50) of the officers killed in the line of duty were employed by city police departments.
The report says 29 deaths happened in the South, 21 in the Midwest, 10 in the West, and 10 in the Northeast. The other two were in Puerto Rico.
Sixty-nine of the slain officers were males.
To view the FBI's entire report, click here:
