The tragedy of last year's murders of four Lakewood police officers is being cited by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in announcing a new Department of Justice initiative aimed at helping police survive violent encounters.

Holder announced the initiative, called VALOR, during an address Tuesday before the International Association of Chiefs of Police being held in Orlando, Fla.

"Just weeks after we left last year's conference, many of you came together again - under different and devastating circumstances," Holder said in a prepared statement. "Some of you traveled hundreds of miles to get to Lakewood, Washington - where, on November 29th, four police officers sat together in a coffee shop, preparing for a workday they would not live to see. At 8:30 that morning, they were ambushed by a gunman and killed in cold blood -- targeted, and murdered, simply because of the uniforms they wore and the public service they provided.

"These victims - Officers Griswold, Owens, Renninger and Richards - were members of Lakewood's police department. But they were also part of something much larger - a law enforcement community that spans borders and jurisdictions; a law enforcement family bound by common cause and rare courage," Holder said.

He noted, however, that since last October, 163 officers nationwide have been killed in the line of duty, more than a third of them by gunfire.

The VALOR initiative involves allocating $800,000 for the initial development of a nationwide training and technical assistance program to teach officers on how to anticipate and survive a violent encounters. In addition, officers will learn techniques for identifying concealed weapons and armed gunmen, and be trained for high-risk tactical situations that may involve active shooters or hostages. Officers will also learn techniques to confront specific threat groups, including domestic and international terrorists and other violent criminals and extremists.

In addition, Holder said the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded nearly $470,000 to launch the Center for the Prevention of Violence Against the Police, which is designed to serve as a clearinghouse for information and analysis about injury and violence against law enforcement officers.

To read the FBI's annual report on law enforcement officers injured or killed in the line of duty in 2009, click here.

Maurice Clemmons, who killed the four Lakewood officers, was fatally shot by a Seattle police officer after a two-day manhunt.