Attacks on cops down

Los Angeles Sue Doyle in the Daily News.

Violence against Los Angeles Police Department officials in 2008 involved the slaying of SWAT Officer Randal Simmons in a Winnetka shootout, 168 assaults with deadly weapons and 358 attacks from punching and shoving to kicking.

The decline of crime against Los Angeles police follows the 15 percent slide in crime rates across the city - where homicides in July plummeted to 1970s levels.