Missouri continues to see high number of officers killed

ST. LOUIS -- Working in law enforcement in Missouri continues to be more dangerous than holding such a job in most other states.

New figures for last year put Missouri in fifth place with its six deaths in the line of duty, tying it with New York -- a state with six times as many officers as Missouri.

Even as the nation saw a decline in the number of police officers, sheriffs and federal agents killed in the line of duty last year, to 147 from 230 in 2001, Missouri did not. The six deaths in 2002 matched the number of officers killed in 2001, despite efforts to beef up police training and equipment.

"It's a dangerous occupation, and we know there will be some people who will be killed or injured. However, for a state of our size to be so high is disturbing to those of us in law enforcement," said Capt. Chris Ricks, a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The deaths are a seemingly random mix of automobile crashes, shootings, prison disturbances, accidents and officers struck by drunk drivers.

"The one thing that's always been apparent when we talk about the state of Missouri is how constant the numbers are," said Craig Floyd, chairman of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

"Clearly, there's a very high incidence of death in Missouri. They seem to have a blend of all the issues we talk about. It just seems to go on year after year," said Floyd. His congressionally authorized group compiles the annual numbers and shares them with federal and state officials in an effort to lower the toll.

Missouri had more fatalities last year than New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington state, Indiana and Oklahoma combined. Over the last five years, Missouri had 22 deaths, compared with 19 in Illinois, which has double the population. In 2001, Missouri's six deaths ranked it eighth nationally.

It's not a new trend. With 568 police officers killed on the job in the past 210 years, Missouri ranks among the top eight states, though it has less than half the population of any other state on the list.

Since 1960, Missouri has not had a single year without a law officer fatality.

One factor most experts cite is a lack of sufficient resources and training in Missouri's rural police departments and sheriff's offices.

The state recently raised minimum training to 12 weeks from three weeks, with many departments now requiring continuing education, as well.

Police and sheriffs' academies in Missouri have shifted firearms training from fixed bulls-eye targets to more realistic, computer-generated scenarios involving car-stop situations with moving targets.

Missouri's rough roads also contributed to the problem. Roads in the state can be "hilly, turny, twisty and treacherous," said Suzy Sawyer, executive director of Concerns of Police Survivors based in Camdenton. Three of last year's fatalities were automobile-related, though none was directly attributable to poor roads.