New FBI statistics include four Ohio police officers in the total 72 officers who were killed by criminal activity in the United States in 2011.
The Dayton Daily News reports that the national number of police deaths is the highest since 1995. And the four deaths in Ohio were the most since 1997.
Of the 72 nationwide killings, records show 63 of them came by firearms, mostly handguns.
The 2011 officer deaths in Ohio included sheriff's deputies shot to death and fatally injured by cars.
Warren County Sheriff Larry Sims tells the newspaper that people seem to have less concern about taking the life of a police officer. He said the overall disrespect for laws and authority these days is "scary."