While there is a wealth of informational statistics regarding on-duty fatalities for police officers, there is surprisingly little data for on-duty injuries. A study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in 2018 shed light on these statistics. The primary finding was that law enforcement officers suffer non-fatal injuries at three times the rate as other occupations. The highest rate of injuries involved assaults and violent acts, at 36%. Another prevalent injury involved transportation injuries, at 14%. NIOSH is also conducting another study that will utilize statistics from hospital emergency departments to continue shedding light on this trend.
NBC Miami reports on a police officer from Davie that was promoted after suffering a near-fatal injury in a collision.
Last Wednesday, 35-year-old Patricia Ravine was promoted to lieutenant at a special ceremony.
Three years ago, when Ravine was a police sergeant with the Davie Police. She stopped to help a driver who had been in a crash on I-75. She was struck by another vehicle in the nearby lane. The accident left Ravine with a traumatic head injury and she was airlifted to Broward Health Medical Center, where she was placed in the ICU.
Ravine went through four months of physical therapy and had to relearn basic tasks, such as walking.
Twice before her accident, Ravine took the promotion test. She has been with the department for 13 years. She was promoted along with 10 other officers.