Medicine and Law Enforcement

76 law enforcement officers have so far lost their lives in the line of duty in 2011. 32 of these officers were shot and killed. Its often spoken that motor vehicle accidents are the number one threat officers face in the line of duty but this is not true. From information collected by the Officer Down Memorial web site, each year for the last 10 years, more law enforcement officers have been shot and killed than died in car accidents. With the increasing threat of rifles to law enforcement officers, the time between injury and starting medical care has become critical. The "Golden Hour" defined as the time a critically injured patient should arrive at a trauma center for care has arguably decreased to "golden minutes" with death occurring as quickly as a 180 seconds. Tactical medicine courses, seminars and programs are increasing in number to help combat this increasing threat. Can we do more? Can medicine and law enforcement further join together to bring life saving care to the streets?