Texas has not been immune officers dying in the line of duty, as nine officers have been died while in uniform in the state since the start of 2016. Of the nine officers who have died in Texas in 2016, four officers were assassinated during a rally Thursday night.
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, 25 officers in the United States have been shot and killed in the line of duty so far in 2016.
The 2016 figures are a sharp increase from 2015 when 16 officers were shot and killed in the line of duty during the same time frame. There were 39 gun deaths to uniformed police officers.
There have been 57 officers who have died in the line of duty for various reasons in 2016. Gunfire was the leading cause of death, followed by vehicular assault and automobile accident.
In 2015, 130 were officers were killed in uniform. The average number of deaths for police in the line of duty has held steady in recent years, since 2010 when 180 officers were killed. Of the 180 police officers killed in 2010, 59 were killed by gunfire.
The last Dallas Police officer to be killed by a gun in the line of duty was Norman Stephen Smith on Jan. 6, 2009. Smith attempted to an arrest warrant, when he was shot and killed.