Fewer law enforcement officers died on the job in 2009

Lakewood police  officers listen during a Nov. 30 news conference about the shooting of four of their colleagues in nearby Parkland,  Wash.

WASHINGTON – Law enforcement deaths this year dropped to their lowest level since 1959, while the decade of the 2000s was among the safest for officers — despite the deadliest single day for police on Sept. 11, 2001.

The drop in deaths, cited in a police group’s report Monday, was tempered by an increase in firearm deaths. In one horrific November shooting, four officers were executed as they discussed their upcoming shift in a Lakewood, Wash., coffee shop. More.

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