Killing of Freemansburg Cop Part of National Trend?

The last August of Freemansburg police officer may fit a disturbing new trend.

While violent crime has decreased nationwide, 2011 saw a significant increase in the number of officers killed in the line of duty.

The New York Times reports that the statistic was up:

• 25 percent from 2010
• 75 percent from 2008

Seventy-two officers including Lasso were killed in 2011, according to the FBI.

Lasso was 31 when he was shot to death while responding to a call at the New Street home of George Hitcho Jr. Hitcho is jailed without bail as he awaits trial.

Officers were killed in many cases in which they tried to arrest someone with a prior record, according to a study funded by the FBI. Hitcho has a history of vehicle, drug and nuisance offenses.

2011 marked the first time more police officers were killed by suspects than died in car accidents, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police. 

In another recent case, residents of New Hampshire are in shock and mourning following Thursday's , who was killed while serving a drug warrant. Four other officers were also shot. The shooter died in an apparent murder-suicide.

Maloney, 48, was a week from retiring as police chief of the town of Greenland on state's seacoast. 

The New York Times article said that most of the cops killed in 2011 died in smaller towns - like the communities where Lasso and Maloney and lived.