It can be hard to keep up with all of the news that occurs on daily basis.
Because of this, the Officer.com staff presents the "Quickfire Weekly Recap."
Here are some of the stories you may have missed that ran on our site this week:
Weekend (Aug. 30-Sept. 1)
A Draper, Utah police officer was found fatally shot in his cruiser Sunday morning and two other people -- including the suspect -- were critically wounded.
Police say Sgt. Derek Johnson approached a wreck when one of the passengers opened fire. Responders pulled the 32-year-old officer from the vehicle and tried to save him, but were unsuccessful.
A St. Joseph, Mo. police officer braved heavy smoke and fire to rescue a 3-year-old girl from a burning home Friday afternoon.
Officer Jeff Lanning, an 18-year veteran of the police department, was nearby when he received the call and could see smoke was pouring out of the windows when he arrived.
A Wilson's Mills, N.C. police officer needed some saving of his own after his cruiser wound up in a ditch before catching fire Sunday.
A group of bystanders worked together to pry open the driver's side door of the smoking vehicle and pull Officer Ashley McLamb to safety.
After 152 years of oversight, the city of St. Louis regained control of its police department from the state on Saturday.
Mayor Francis Slay signed they executive order he said was "too long in coming."
Monday (Sept. 2)
A Knox County, Ky. deputy shot and killed a suspect after he was wounded by the man inside a home.
State police said Deputy Brian Hensley responded to a domestic-violence complaint when Jeffery Scott Frump opened fire on him, hitting him in the leg.
According to media reports, federal drug agents have had near-immediate access to billions of phone call records over the last six years.
The program, previously, called the Hemisphere Project, is paid for by the DEA and the Office of National Drug Control Policy and allows investigators armed with subpoenas to quickly mine the database to help track down drug traffickers or other suspects who switch cell phones.
Massachusetts is still reeling a year after a scandal at a drug lab that led to the dismissal of cases and the release of inmates.
Officials say more than 330 prison inmates have been released from custody and at least 1,100 cases have been dismissed or not prosecuted because of tainted evidence tied to Annie Dookhan.
Tuesday (Sept. 3)
Two Phoenix police officers were wounded during a search operation and two suspects were taken into custody.
Police responding after a woman was found shot were led on a pursuit by the suspects. Officials say the driver gave up, but the passenger ran away before ambushing officers with a sawed-off shotgun, hitting both of them in the legs.
The Cleveland man serving life in prison for kidnapping three women holding them captive in his home for nearly a decade was found hanged in his cell.
Prison medical staff at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio performed CPR on Ariel Castro before transporting him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Recently, more police agencies across the country are applying the label human trafficking to homegrown prostitution.
Those departments are focusing on sex trafficking and arresting traffickers and customers alike.
Former NYPD commissioner and LAPD police chief Bill Bratton is preparing to launch the police social media website BlueLinenext month.
The network is scheduled to go live at the International Association of Police Chiefs' annual conference in Philadelphia
Wednesday (Sept. 4)
The final sentence was handed down the 2011 fatal shooting of NYPD Officer Peter Figoski.
Ariel Tejada got just 18 years in prison as part of a plea deal -- which included helping convict the gunman. Tejada played a role in a botched robbery that ended in the death of Figoski.
A former Phoenix police officer charged with murder and animal cruelty testified that he feared for his life during the 2010 incident.
Richard Chrisman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated assault and animal cruelty charges in the shootings of Daniel Rodriguez and his pit bull.
A fight inside Spring High School in Texas resulted in a series of stabbings that left a student dead and three others wounded.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office said 17-year-old student Luis Alonzo Alfaro pulled a knife during the fight before fatally stabbing the student.
A man convicted of threatening Cleveland officers is making a court-ordered public apology by standing near a police station with a sign describing himself as an idiot.
Richard Dameron began his sentence on Monday and must stand outside of the station for three hours each day for the rest of the remainder of the week.
Thursday (Sept. 5)
Officials say Newark, N.J. is being hit by a crime wave as nine people have been killed since Aug. 26.
The city is extending a summer deployment of increased police patrols in troubled neighborhoods, boosting police overtime and deploying narcotics officers and tactical forces.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig announced a shake-up in the department's communications unit.
Issues involving police dispatchers resulting hours-long delays to crime sense in recent months prompted the changes.
The son of slain Baltimore County Police Officer Jason Schneider threw out the first pitch at the Orioles game against the Chicago White Sox.
Schneider's son, 10-year-old Brandon, took the mound at Camden Yards after attending batting practice. His father was fatally shot on Aug. 28 while serving a warrant.
Friday (Sept. 6)
A Portland, Ore. police officer returned to duty this week, less than a year after a training incident that left his paralyzed.
Officer Paul Meyer suffered the injures on Nov. 19, 2012 after a 110-foot tree snapped, striking him on the head and upper back as he was doing ATV training drills.
