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 An officer with the Los Angeles Police Department was wounded while he and his partner were pursuing a larceny suspect. On December 22 about 4:20 p.m., the victim officer and his partner were on patrol in their cruiser when they were flagged down by employees of a nearby convenience store. The employees stated that a male had stolen two six-packs of beer and indicated the direction in which the individual had fled. Following as directed, the officers located a man in an alley. He was ordered to keep his hands visible. However, he reached into his right pants pocket and extracted a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun. Multiple shots were fired at the victim officer seated on the passenger side of the cruiser. One shot entered between the panels of the officer's body armor and lodged in his chest. Though being fired upon, both officers were able to return fire. The driver exited from his side of the cruiser and fired two rounds that fatally wounded the 17-year-old assailant. The wounded officer was transported to a local hospital and later died during surgery. The 27-year-old victim officer had almost 2 years of law enforcement service.

FLORIDA

An officer with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department was fatally wounded when he confronted a suspicious person at approximately 10:15 p.m. on January 5. The 6-year veteran officer and his partner made contact with an individual lurking in shrubbery near an adult education center. The man broke away from the officers and ran across the highway. The officers gave chase on foot. Upon reaching the opposite side of the road, the individual allegedly turned and fired one shot from a .357-caliber revolver, which passed through the right arm hole of the victim officer's protective body armor and entered his heart. The victim's partner fired at the alleged assailant but did not hit him. The 27-year-old injured officer was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his wound during surgery. An intensive manhunt using search dogs led to the suspect's arrest a short time later. The 34-year-old male was charged with First-Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault, Armed Robbery, and Resisting Arrest with Violence. He was found to have prior arrests for Burglary, Larceny, Carrying a Concealed Weapon, and Possession of Marijuana, as well as various traffic offenses.

On May 29 at approximately 12:30 a.m., an Orange County deputy sheriff died of multiple injuries suffered when he was struck by a stolen vehicle being driven through a police roadblock. Shortly after midnight, Orange County deputies began pursuing an individual driving a pickup truck which had been reported stolen. Attempting to establish a roadblock on the roadway ahead of the pursuit, the 37-year-old victim deputy with less than 2 years' law enforcement experience was placing stop sticks on the roadway. Allegedly, the driver of the pickup, operating the vehicle under the influence of alcohol, ran the roadblock, struck the deputy, and continued fleeing. Pursuing deputies fired at the truck, striking the driver several times until he lost control and crashed the truck. The 18-year-old suspect was hospitalized in critical condition, paralyzed from the waist down. He has been charged with Second-Degree Murder.

An investigation into a high school burglary led to the death of a 54-year-old, 17-year veteran deputy with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office on June 13. Shortly after midnight, the victim deputy entered a high school to investigate a report of a burglary in progress. Inside, he encountered a male. A struggle ensued in which the deputy was disarmed and shot seven times with hollow point bullets from his own service weapon, a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. One of the gunshots, which proved to be fatal, entered the deputy's upper back. As he hurried to leave the area, the burglar was attempting to place the service weapon in his back pocket when he accidentally discharged it, causing a minor injury to his right leg. Still carrying the victim 43