A vehicle lost control on an icy bridge in Little Rock in March and hit a Washington County transport van, totaling the vehicle. Damage: $14,422.
A Benton County detective fell asleep while driving and crashed his county-owned Jeep in June. Damage: About $10,000.
Fast Fact
On average, traffic-related fatalities among law enforcement have increased 18 percent between 2001 and 2010.
Source: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
A Rogers police officer was driving to an emergency with his lights and sirens on when a vehicle hit the police unit at an intersection. Damage: About $10,000.
Damages to law enforcement vehicles in Northwest Arkansas run into the thousands of dollars each year, even as departments send officers to training, according to records released by police, county employees and Arkansas State Police.
The Rogers Police Department reported about $18,460 in damage to police vehicles in officer-involved accidents last year. Much of that was covered by insurance, said Lt. Mike Johnson, but vehicle accidents among police can be costly to vehicles, hurt officers or even be fatal.
"It's the No. 1 cause of death among law enforcement," said Capt. James Baker of the Rogers department about accidents.
Police are 36 times more likely to be in a vehicle crash than the general public, according to a study by the International Association of Chiefs of Police published in 2011. Motor vehicle accidents have accounted for a large portion of law enforcement officers' deaths for years, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit organization created to honor and remember the service and sacrifice of officers, according to its website.
Nationally, traffic incidents involving law enforcement officers were the leading cause of officer deaths in 2012, according to Officers Memorial Fund information. This year, vehicle collisions are neck and neck with firearm fatalities.
Among the 19 Arkansas State Police troopers who have died in the line of duty, eight died in vehicle accidents, two were struck by a vehicles and one was in a motorcycle accident -- meaning than more than half of troopers who died were involved in a vehicle collision of some kind, according to information from the Officer Down Memorial Page Inc.
Correction
A previous version of this story misstated the number of Arkansas State Police troopers who have been killed in the line of duty. The error has been corrected.
The Officer Down Memorial Page is a nonprofit organization honoring law enforcement officials who die in the line of duty.
Statewide, police and sheriff offices have had officers die in traffic accidents, including a police officer who was hit and killed in Conway as he directed traffic last year. A Sebastian County deputy also died in a car accident in 2013.
This year, a chief deputy in Lafayette County died after police said a passenger grabbed the wheel of his vehicle and caused an accident.
Northwest Arkansas hasn't had any law enforcement officials die in a vehicle crash this year, but local agencies have seen serious accidents.
The Rogers police officer who was struck in June was treated for injuries, Baker said. Other accidents could have been dangerous.
A Springdale Police Department Chevrolet Tahoe was sideswiped by another vehicle and totaled this year when a policeman responded to an emergency, Lt. Derek Hudson, department spokesman, said. The Benton County Sheriff's Office vehicle the detective drove in June spun "out of control" across both lanes of Arkansas 16, then overturned against an embankment in a ditch, said Bill Sadler, Arkansas State Police spokesman.
Most accidents are covered under insurance, meaning the cities or counties are reimbursed for fixing vehicles, but law enforcement agencies still want to prevent accidents, spokesmen said. About half of accidents involving officers aren't the fault of the officers, based on numbers provided by some of the departments in Benton and Washington counties.
Still, local law enforcement agencies use training programs, internal investigations and track systems to find the number of accidents each officer is in. Departments reprimand officers who are at fault to try to curb accidents, but accidents among officers remain a likely risk, said Craig Stout, Fayetteville Police Department spokesman.
"Police officers drive thousands of miles every year while on duty," Stout said. "Statistically speaking, the numbers are going to catch up to you one day and you will be involved in a collision."
Fluctuating Numbers
The number of accidents among departments, and within departments themselves, change year to year, city and county records show.
Police-involved accidents declined in Rogers from 25 in 2012 to 15 last year, but are up in Fayetteville, where police said 34 employee-involved collisions were reported last year. About half of those weren't the fault of the police officer, records show, but it means total collisions are up by 14 over the year before.
Other departments are about the same year to year, including the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
Last year, the Washington County Sheriff's Office had 22 crashes, 14 of which were deputies' faults, spokeswoman Kelly Cantrell. That's nearly identical to 2012. So far this year, the office reported 12 crashes, eight of which were caused by deputies.
No one from the Benton County Sheriff's Office responded to a phone message left Friday or two earlier email asking about accidents among Sheriff's Office employees. County records show the Sheriff's Office has had nine accidents so far this year and had 16 last year.
Some police departments report lower numbers of accidents, records show.
In Bentonville, accidents have remained in the single digits with only five wrecks so far this year, nine in 2013 and five for 2012, said Capt. John Hubbard . The most expensive wreck involving a Bentonville police officer was in January when another vehicle slid on ice and hit the back of the officer's Dodge Durango, causing about $1,500 in damages, according to a Bentonville accident report.
Police department spokesmen said they don't have any officers who are routinely in accidents.
Springdale didn't provide information on how many accidents involved police this year by deadline Friday, but Hudson said he found five accidents reported in 2012.
Police take accidents seriously, Hudson and Johnson said. The Rogers officer who drove his vehicle into the stop sign earlier this year was reprimanded, Johnson said.
"If you are at fault, the discipline increases," said Sgt. Miles Mason of the Rogers Police Department.
An officer who is involved in a lot of collisions, and was at fault, would be fired, Mason said.
The Cost to Fix
The money to keep Rogers police vehicles on the road was being depleted quickly this year because officers were involved in several costly accidents, Baker said.
The department has a fund for maintaining and fixing vehicles, but when an accident happens, the insurance pays the city's general fund, Baker said. The department needed about $21,000 so the maintenance fund didn't run out of money by the end of the year. The City Council approved in June giving the money back to the Police Department. It was the first time police had asked for its insurance reimbursement, Baker said.
Other departments handle their insurance claims differently. Sometimes businesses that repair the vehicles are paid directly, according to records from the state's Municipal League.
The league provides vehicle insurance for most of the state's cities, said Don Zimmerman, executive director.
Like most Northwest Arkansas cities, Rogers has a $1,000 deductible as part of insurance coverage. Most of the accidents this year didn't meet the deductible, according to a chart listing accidents involving police provided by Johnson.
The Police Department might start asking the City Council to transfer money after individual large insurance payments, instead of waiting for the amount to build up, Baker said.
In the meantime, police from all cities said they plan training as a way to curb accidents among officers.
Baker said Rogers police have driver training once a year. The Police Department wants to manage its risks, he said.
Police vehicles outfitted with gear cost roughly $35,000 a piece, Baker said. Repair can become expensive quickly, he said. Accidents also can cost the Police Department because injuries can mean workers compensation.
The public needs to pay attention when they see police lights, Baker said. Drivers who see flashing police lights should slow down, watch the road and move to the furthest lane.
"Anything to give us extra protection," Baker said.
NW News on 07/19/2014