There has been an increase in police officer deaths this year.
All told, we've seen 65 officer deaths this year. One of them was right here in Houston as Harris County Pct. 3 Assistant Chief Deputy Clint Greenwood was assassinated in April.
“A crazed gunman had a vendetta, and wanted to kill a police officer. That man killed Clint as he got out of his car,” Ray Hunt with the Houston Police Officers union explained. “It was a tragic loss for the area, and for us. Clint did some work as an attorney for our organization.”
Craig Floyd from the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund tells KTRH the leading cause of these deaths are car accidents.
“A total of 26 officers killed in traffic related incidents in the first half of this year,” Floyd stated.
Hunt says he understands how that could happen.
“Your eyes are sometimes taken attention off the roadway. Those cars are designed to have two people to be in there; one to operate the computer and radio, and the other to concentrate on driving,” Hunt said.
Texas has seen four officers die this year while Georgia and New York lead the country with five.