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 An off-duty 48-year-old Philadelphia Police Department detective was fatally wounded on August 15 at 9:30 p.m., as he walked through his neighborhood. The veteran detective, with 26 years’ law enforcement service, was apparently confronted by three armed males who attempted to rob him. In response to the threat, the detective drew his service revolver and attempted to arrest the men. A gunfight ensued, and the victim detective was fatally wounded in the chest by a bullet fired from a .22-caliber revolver. Nevertheless, he managed to wound two of his alleged assailants. Three suspects, aged 17, 20, and 25, were arrested by responding police and charged with Murder. PUERTO RICO A 46-year-old sergeant with the Puerto Rico Police Department was shot and killed on August 9 at approximately 12:30 p.m. The 18-year veteran sergeant, wearing body armor, was patrolling near Caguas with two other officers when they spotted two suspect vehicles containing several individuals allegedly wanted in connection with a robbery committed earlier that day in San Lorenzo. The victim sergeant, who was driving the police vehicle, pursued the vehicles which carried a total of seven males. In the course of the pursuit, a shot from a semiautomatic handgun was allegedly fired from one of the vehicles. The bullet entered the patrol vehicle and fatally struck the victim sergeant in the front of the head. Over the next several months, six suspects, two 20-year-olds, one 21-year-old, one 22-year-old, one 26-year-old, and one 28-year-old, were arrested. A seventh suspect, age unknown, died under other circumstances. SOUTH CAROLINA A 9-year veteran sergeant with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed on February 26 at approximately 7:30 in the evening upon responding to a suspicious person

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call. The 32-year-old sergeant, wearing his protective vest, had responded to a call reporting a suspicious person trying to gain entry to a house through a bedroom window. Officers in a backup unit arrived a few minutes later and found the sergeant on the ground, shot twice. Though the handgun used to shoot the sergeant was not recovered, the wound to his shoulder and the fatal shot to the back of his head were consistent with injuries a .22-caliber would inflict, and two spent shells of that caliber were found at the scene. The sergeant was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. Following an intensive manhunt conducted by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, Sumter City Police, and the State Law Enforcement Division, a 30-year-old suspect was located hiding behind a nearby building, taken into custody, and charged with Murder. On September 19 at approximately 4:45 p.m., a 26-year-old patrol officer with the Greenville Police Department was fatally wounded while attempting to apprehend a wanted suspect. The victim patrol officer, who had 4 years’ law enforcement service, was patrolling in a one-officer marked vehicle when he observed a man against whom there were multiple outstanding warrants. The man allegedly ran to the rear of a residence where the patrol officer, pursuing on foot, overtook and grabbed him. As the officer wrestled him to the ground, a second individual came out of the residence and allegedly assaulted the officer, allowing the man to break free. The officer, who was wearing body armor, continued his pursuit around the corner of a metal shed at which time he was ambushed and shot twice in the face with a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol. After the victim officer fell to the ground, his assailant continued to fire, striking the victim officer four times in the back of the head and once in the lower body. The victim officer was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead several hours later. A 20-year-old suspect was arrested 6 days later and charged with Murder.