WASHINGTON (970 WFLA) -- Florida law enforcement takes the lead in a grim statistic... more officers have been killed in our state since New Year's Day than in any other... seven, compared with four each in New York and North Carolina.
The seven dead include a Highlands County deputy and two Gilchrist County deputies who were gunned down in separate ambushes... and a Jacksonville policeman who was killed in a traffic crash.
Craig Floyd with the national law enforcement officers Memorial Fund says firearm incidents jumped 29 percent, while traffic related fatalities among officers are up four percent.
Here are the names and agencies of the seven officers who lost their lives in the line of duty this year:
Corrections Officer Tawana Marin, Daytona Beach Police Officer Thomas Coulter, Highlands County Deputy William Gentry Jr, Lance Whittaker with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Gilchrist County Sheriff's Sgt. Noel Ramirez and Deputy Taylor Lindsey and Brevard Deputy Kevin Stanton.
Eight officers died in 2017 in Florida.