Michigan has already lost three officers killed in the line of duty this year.
“Unfortunately this incident follows an alarming trend nationally in that violence against officers is increasing at an alarming rate,” said one of Public Safety Officer Eric Zapata’s fellow officers during a press conference Tuesday.
Officer Zapata died after authorities say he was shot in the head and chest during a shootout in a Kalamazoo alley. The suspected gunman later shot and killed himself.
Officer Zapata was responding to reports of gunfire when he approached a suspect.
On average over the past decade, 168 officers died on duty every year, but in recent years the United States has fortunately seen below average rates of death.
In 2009, 132 law enforcement officers died on duty according to the FBI. Then in 2010, we saw 160 deaths. We are now less than a third of the way through 2011, and so far The Officer Down Memorial Page reports 60 officers have been killed.
Three of them are Michigan officers. Livonia Police Officer Larry Nehasil died in a shooting in January. Michigan State Police Trooper Jeffrey Werda died earlier this month in a crash in Taymouth Township, while rushing to help other officers. Kalamazoo Officer Eric Zapata is the most recent officer lost while protecting and serving in Michigan.
“As a law enforcement officer for 25 years, I don't remember a time when I've seen this many officers attacked,” said Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel.
The sheriff says it seems society in general is becoming angrier with law enforcement. The anger sometimes is fueled by postings on social media websites that may or may not be true. Another factor may be budget cuts. When there are fewer officers on the streets, officers have less back-up, and their jobs become riskier.
“If we have fewer officers on the street, what message are we sending to the criminals?” asks Sheriff Federspiel. “We now have one show up, where before we had 3 or 4. It's a bad message to send and it’s dangerous for our officers.”
The sheriff says studies need to be done to determine what could be driving this trend. In the meantime, these deaths are a tragic reminder that no police call is routine.
