The number of law enforcement officers in the region killed on duty jumped sharply last year, and the area is on pace to equal those fatalities again. Five officers in the tri-state area died on duty in the first half of 2011. Ten officers were killed in 2010, including five in the first half of the year — an increase from the just three who died in all of 2009.

Nationwide, the number of law enforcement officers killed on the job is continuing to climb. Ninety-eight officers died in the first half of 2011, a 14 percent increase from the same time period in 2010, according to data released last week by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Last year, the total number of officers killed on duty rose by 37 percent.