AVERAGE AGE: 40.

OLDEST OFFICER
Carbon County Sheriff S. Marion Bliss was 70 when he was accidentally shot to death by members of his own posse during a gun battle with a murder suspect. The suspect was also killed.

YOUNGEST OFFICER
In 1920, 20-year-old Ogden Patrolman Albert G. Smalley died of injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident the previous year. Officer Smalley was just 19 at the time of the accident.

AVERAGE LAW ENFORCEMENT EXPERIENCE: 6.9 YEARS.

MOST EXPERIENCED
Provo Officer William Strong served his community for more than 30 years before being shot to death by a transient in 1899.

LEAST EXPERIENCED
Juab County Deputy Floyd L. Rose was deputized just hours before being killed by an escapee from the county jail in 1922.

GENDER AND ETHNICITY
115 males
1 female
111 Caucasian
4 Native-American
1 African-American

In 1998, Navajo Department of Public Safety Officer Esther Todecheene became the first female police officer to die in the line of duty in Utah. She was killed in a single car accident while responding to another officer’s call for assistance.

FAMILY
91% married.
Average 3.6 children.

FIRST LINE OF DUTY DEATH
Salt Lake County Deputy Sheriff Rodney Badger, drowned in the Weber River in 1853. Deputy Badger was attempting to rescue a family stranded in the river when he was swept to his death by the current.

MOST RECENT DEATH
On November 22, 2006, Uintah County Detective Kevin Orr died of injuries suffered the previous day in a helicopter crash. Orr was an observer in the aircraft being used to search for a missing woman.

WORST EPISODE
In November 1913, Bingham miner named Rafael Lopez murdered five police officers before escaping. He was reportedly shot and killed by Texas rangers years later.

WORST PERIOD
One-third of all officers killed died in the 30-year period between 1895-1925, most due to homicide.

HOMICIDE
Murder is the single leading cause of death in the line of duty. 57% of Utah’s fallen police were murdered. Handguns remain the greatest threat in these homicides, killing 63% of all murdered officers.

ACCIDENT
43% percent of officers died accidentally. Traffic crashes account for 46% of these accidental deaths. Thirteen police officers have been struck and killed by inattentive or impaired motorists.

Ogden Officer Albert G. Smalley was the first Utah officer to die in a traffic accident. Officer Smalley suffered fatal injuries near Ogden Canyon in 1921 after being sideswiped by a passing motorist.

The most recent traffic fatality occurred in 2003 when Emery County Deputy Jeremiah K. Johnston died in a collision near Castle Dale.