2009 has been an exceptionally dangerous year for the state’s law enforcement officials. Capitol Hill’s East Precinct lost an officer. The Pierce County sheriff’s deputy shot last week died Monday at Harborview. His passing pushes Washington State’s 2009 law enforcement death total to six — all by gunfire. To get a sense of just how extraordinarily high that number is, here is a chart of all law enforcement deaths by gunfire in the state since the turn of the 20th century.
The state hasn’t seen as many as five law enforcement shooting deaths since 1949 and you have to go back 74 years for the tragic record — seven shooting deaths in 1935.
2009, as seen in comparison to the past, is an incredible anomaly and all the more remarkable as it comes at the end of a relatively safe decade for law enforcement officials across the nation.
What happens next is key. But it’s unlikely law enforcement leaders will wait around to find out — it’s hard to ignore the deadliest year any of us have ever seen.
