Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: DECEMBER 2016 35 by Craig W. Floyd T he shocking news that two Iowa po- lice officers were murdered on No- vember 2, 2016, in ambush- style shootings has put an exclamation point on one of the dark- est periods for law enforcement in re- cent history. As of November 7, 16 law enforce- ment professionals have died in the line of duty from ambush attacks, which ties 2014 for the highest total of any year in the last two decades. The news of these recent officer fatalities makes what has been an especially tragic year for law enforcement all the more horrific. Already this year 116 law enforcement officers nation- wide have died in the per- formance of duty based on preliminary information. Even more alarming is the fact that 53 of those of- ficers were killed by gunfire, which is a more than a 50 percent spike over the 33 officers shot and killed as of early November last year. More officers have been shot and killed so far this year than during any full year since 2011. Like the Iowa murders, many of these shooting deaths of officers have re- sulted from ambush-style attacks – all of them tar- geted simply because of the uniform they wear and the job that they do. Perhaps the most shock- ing of these attacks was the late night incident of July 7 in Dallas. On an evening when of- ficers were called to keep order during a protest in the downtown area, five officers were killed by a man with a hatred toward police. Twelve more were injured. Dallas Area Rapid Transit Officer Brent Alan Thomp- son was a father, grandfa- ther and newlywed, having married a fellow officer just two weeks prior to his death. Dallas Senior Corporal Lorne Ahrens, a former football player was a 14-year veteran of the department. His colleague, Police Offi- cerMichaelKrolhadmoved to Dallas from Michigan to become an officer. Dallas Sergeant Michael Joseph Smith was an Army Ranger before joining the police force, and Officer Patrick Zamarripa had survived three tours in Iraq with the Navy before being gunned down that night. Just 10 days later, tragedy struck again in Louisiana. A man wielding a rifle while walking down a street in Baton Rouge was reported to the po- lice. It turns out that the suspect had been expecting and planning for this reaction so that he could kill officers who approached him. Three officers d i e d t h a t d a y. East Baton Rouge Par- ish (LA) Deputy Sheriff Bradford Allen Garafola, Sr., known for always try- ing to help someone else, Cops get gunned down in cowardly ambush attacks had worked for the Sheriff’s Office for 22 years. Baton Rouge Police Of- ficer Matthew Gerald was killed before learning that his wife was pregnant with their third child. And his colleague, Corpo- ral Montrell Jackson, who had a newborn son, was known for his hard work to improve relations between the white and black com- munities in the city. Aswerememberandhon- or the officers whose lives have been taken from us, Patrick Zamarripa Dallas Police Dept. Allen Garafola East Baton Rouge Parish (LA) Sheriff’s Office Montrell Jackson Baton Rouge Police Dept. Michael Krol Dallas Police Dept. Matthew Gerald Baton Rouge Police Dept. Michael Joseph Smith Dallas Police Dept. Brent Alan Thompson Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police Dept. It turns out that the suspect had been expecting and planning for this reaction so that he could kill officers who approached him. Three officers died that day. and grieve along with their families and colleagues, we pray and hope that these very difficult times for law enforcement and our na- tion will help to bring us all closer together. Craig W. Floyd is president and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and is a regular contribu- tor to AMERICAN POLICE BEAT. Visit www.LawMemo- rial.org for more information about law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. I N T H E L I N E O F D U T Y t
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