Law Enforcement Officer Deaths On the Rise

173 cops died in line-of-duty in 2011

Twenty years ago America was in an outrage over Ice-T and Body Count's controversial record "Cop Killer." In 2011, cop killing is more than a song, very much a reality and at an all time high.

A report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund says that in-the-line of duty deaths have jumped up by 13% since last year. With two days left in the year, 173 local, state and federal officers have died already. That's almost an average of one being killed every two days. Of that 173, 68 of them were gunned down. The other 64 were killed either in automobile crashes, or by being struck by vehicles while on the job. This makes 2011 the deadliest year for cops since 1973 when 156 of them were shot and killed.

"This is a devastating and unacceptable trend," Attorney General Eric Holder said via statement. "Each of these deaths is a tragic reminder of the threats that law enforcement officers face each day -- and the fact that too many guns have fallen into the hands of those who are not legally permitted to possess them."

2011 started off rough with 50 officers getting killed in the early months, which lead to Holder create a program that would better train and equip officers despite tough economic times cutting back budgets to do so. His efforts saved 16 officers lives.

The report also showed Florida having the largest number of officer deaths this year at 14. Texas had 13, New York 11, and California and Georgia accounted for 10 fatalities each.