As of December 28, 128 officers had died in the line of duty in 2017, with 44 shot and killed. That’s down 10 percent from 2016, when 143 officers died, with 66 gunned down, according to data released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit aimed at honoring officers and improving safety. The only other year with fewer deaths in the past five decades was 2013, when 116 officers were killed. “This is one of those good-news, bad-news situations,” said Craig Floyd, president and chief executive of the fund. “On one hand, you had 128 officers who made the ultimate sacrifice, showing the cost of public safety, but for the first time since 2013, the number of deaths has actually declined.” Reasons for the drop could range from advanced safety gear such as bulletproof vests, better training, better relationships and reduced violence in communities—or just 2017 being an outlier, experts say.
NEW YORK CITY TO INSTALL PERMANENT BARRIERS TO PROTECT PEDESTRIANS Mayor Bill de Blasio is beginning the new year looking to protect pedestrians from potential vehicle attacks in New York City, reports CBSNewYork. The mayor said the city will invest $50 million to install 1,500 permanent protective metal barriers, known as bollards, to create safer sidewalks and pedestrian plazas at key locations. The NYPD and Department of Transportation are surveying sites to determine where the bollards work best. The rollout will begin in March. All of the barriers are expected to be installed over the next five years. “In 2017, New Yorkers witnessed the horrible capacity of people willing to do us harm, whether it was in our subways, on our bike
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paths or in Times Square,” de Blasio said. “But we will not be cowed, and our expanded investment today in barriers and bollards in our public spaces underscores our resolve in keeping New York City safe from future attacks. In this new year, we can and will protect our iconic public spaces while New Yorkers go on living our lives, including by hosting a record number of tourists.” “These additional safety bollards will allow us to better protect many of our landmark locations and many of the areas most frequently used for recreation,” said Police Commissioner James O’Neill. The announcement was made in Times Square where a U.S. Army veteran mowed down a crowd last May, killing 18-year-old Alyssa Elsman, a tourist from Michigan, and injuring 22 other people.
In this new year, we can and will protect our iconic public spaces while New Yorkers go on living our lives, including by hosting a record number of tourists.
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ON-DUTY POLICE DEATHS NEAR RECORD LOW
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
FEBRUARY 2018 | PUBLIC RISK
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