The Storm Lake Police Department will join law enforcement agencies throughout the country remembering those law enforcement professionals who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2011 during Police Memorial Week which is scheduled from May 13, 2012 through May 19, 2012.
The federal government reports that 173 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in 2011, reflecting a 13 percent increase in deaths over 2010. The most notable shift was the increase in murders of law enforcement officers by people using firearms. Sixty eight officers were killed in the line of duty by gunshots.
Over the past ten years the law enforcement profession has averaged 163 line of duty deaths per year. In addition the profession averages 59,069 assaults on officers each year, resulting in an average of 16,041 injuries annually.
On average, a law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty every 53 hours in this country.
Storm Lake Police will be joining their brothers and sisters across the country in remembering those who paid the ultimate sacrifice as well as their families, friends, agencies and communities.
During Police Memorial Week Storm Lake Police Officers will be wearing a black memorial sheath across their badges. In addition a memorial wreath will be displayed in the lobby of the Public Safety Building throughout the week and the Public Safety flag will be flown at half-staff on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 which was designated by President Kennedy as Police Memorial Day.
Public Safety Director Mark Prosser states, “The general public in our community and in most communities are not aware of the dangers their law enforcement professionals face each day. In Storm Lake, we remain committed to good training, good equipment and unprecedented team work in order to do everything we can to insure that our law enforcement professionals go home to their families safe and uninjured every day and every night. The reality is; however, that sometimes no matter what you do the officers are faced with situations and scenarios that are stacked against them. We hope everyday that we don’t have that type of incident in our community.”