Six Ohio law-enforcement officers died in the first half of 2011 from injuries suffered in the line of duty amid an increase in such deaths nationwide, according to a tracking group. A police union attributes the increase to downsizing among forces.There were 98 deaths nationwide in that period, up from 86 during the same time in 2010, according to preliminary data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.Forty officers were killed by gunfire, and 35 were traffic-related fatalities, which have been the leading cause of officer deaths for the past 13 years, the report said. Ohio had four officers die in the line of duty in all of 2010, according to the national memorial fund. So far this year, Ohio has had six deaths, including a former Columbus police officer whose death in January was linked to a 1979 shooting that left him paralyzed. The memorial fund’s preliminary report included a seventh officer with the village of Owensville, about 20 miles east of Cincinnati, who died in a crash while riding a motorcycle, but the police chief there said the man’s death did not occur in the line of duty.The report highlights two Akron-area officers who died this year. Stow police officer Jonathan V. Bastock, 47, fell and injured his knee during a traffic stop in January and died Feb. 5 while recovering from related surgery. Uniontown Capt. Daniel Stiles, 46, was struck and killed Feb. 15 by a passing SUV while directing rush-hour traffic at state Route 619 and Kaufman Avenue in Lake Township. Ohio had a higher total than all but three states: Florida and Texas with 10 each and New York with eight. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia lost no officers in the line of duty from January to June, the report said.The Fraternal Order of Police believes downsizing forces in tough economic times played a role in the increased number of deaths by compromising officers’ safety through cuts in staffing, training and equipment.“It was certainly not a surprise, but sad and distressing news nonetheless,” said Jay McDonald, president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio.In Sandusky, the police department has been working to bolster its staffing since the March death of officer Andrew Dunn, who was working alone when he was fatally shot after stopping a convicted felon riding a bicycle.Interim police Chief Jim Lang said the department’s staffing has decreased because of budget problems, and the force has been several officers short. The city is trying to meet a level it negotiated with the union and restore its reserve officer program, said Lang, who talked with the union after Dunn’s death.Three of the Ohio deaths, including Dunn’s, were connected to firearms. A Clark County deputy was shot at a trailer park near Springfield on New Year’s Day, and a coroner linked the January death of former Columbus police officer Thomas Hayes to a 1979 shooting that left him paralyzed.