Lakewood is a dangerous place to be a police officer with two officers killed in the line of duty since 2007.

Christopher Matlosz is the first police officer to be gunned down in the line of duty in Ocean County, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page website, a national database tracking law enforcement line-of-duty deaths. Previous deaths by police acting in the line of duty were almost all from motor vehicle crashes.

Shortly after the shooting was reported, police unions began to offer reward money to help get information leading to the suspect, said Jim Ryan, a delegate for the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association.

Matlosz’s death follows that of Lakewood Patrolman William “Nichie” Preslar Jr., 36, of Beachwood, who was killed in May 2007 when his patrol car struck a tree while on duty.

In September 2009 four Lakewood officers were shot while serving a no-knock warrant at 1154 Mackenzie Court in Lakewood. Officer Patrolman Jonathan Wilson, 35, was critically injured while officers Leonard Nieves Sr., Lt. Gregory Meyer and Sgt. Louis Sasso had less severe injuries from gunshot wounds, authorities said. Jaime Gonzalez, 40, was charged, among other charges, with the attempted murder of the officers. Wilson, a six-year veteran of the Lakewood department, was shot in the face and lost sight in one eye.

Patrolman Leonard Nieves Sr. and Sgt. Louis Sasso were shot in the vest and had minor injuries. Sasso and Nieves have since resumed work.

Matlosz was a police officer prior to Lakewood and had worked in Englishtown and in Freehold Township.

According to the National Law Enforcement Memorial, Friday is the deadliest day in police work.

“During the past 10 years, more officers were killed feloniously on Friday than any other day of the week,” according to the National Law Enforcement Fund.

Monmouth County has had at least four gunfire related line of duty deaths, most recent in 1997 when Long Branch Police Detective Sgt. Patrick A. King was gunned down by a wanted murderer, according to the omdp.org website that tracks police deaths.

(Source: APP)