According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), the number of officers nationwide who have died in the line of duty has dropped to its lowest level in four years.
This year 128 officers -- federal, state, local, tribal and territorial -- have died in the line of duty, "which is the lowest annual figure since 2013 when 117 officers died."
Forty-four officers were shot and killed in the U.S. this year compared to 67 in 2016.
The report says traffic-related fatalities are the leading cause of officer deaths: "Traffic-related incidents claimed the lives of 47 officers in 2017, a 13 percent drop compared to the 54 officers killed in traffic-related incidents in 2016."
Texas had the highest number of officer fatalities with 14, followed by New York and Florida with nine, and California in third with seven.
The NLEOMF is a nonprofit group committed to tracking officer deaths.
Click here to view the 2017 Law Enforcement Fatalities Report.
