Officer Radio 9/15: Honoring The Fallen

When I look back across the statistics since the year 2000, the "statistics" are horrifying.  162 officers died in the line of duty in 2000.  240 in 2001.  157 in 2002.  149 in 2003.  165 in 2004.  162 in 2005.  155 in 2006.  189 in 2007.  141 in 2008.  122 in 2009.  152 in 2010.  The numbers (obviously) aren't in yet for 2011 but the year started ugly and hasn't improved much.

You've likely seen, in our print publications, Law Enforcement Technology magazine and Law Enforcement Product News, advertisements announcing our new annual conference being held in Washington DC during Police Week 2012:  Officer World.  If you've seen the advertisements, you've seen the phrase:  Some records weren't meant to be broken.  That phrase refers to the 152 officers who died in the line of duty in 2010.  That's a number that's unacceptable and that we should ALL - each and every one of us - strive to reduce regularly.

Let's be realistic:  ONE officer dying in the line of duty is too much.  ZERO is the only acceptable number.

That is the topic of this week's Officer Radio show.  We will Honor The Fallen by frankly discussing the reality of those numbers. We'll talk with the Chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Mr. Craig Floyd.  We'll get some insights and answers from Mr. Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police.  We'll hear from Mr. Bill Finegan of the American First Responder Institute to find out what that new organization is doing to honor officers while they're alive as well as their memory after they've made the ultimate sacrifice.

Join every Thursday at 1pm eastern (1300 hours for you law enforcement and military types) on Officer Radio.  Call in to particpate or make a comment if you'd like: 877-864-4869.  Join us this week as we Honor The Fallen.