SEATTLE - A police officer in Senator Hillary Clinton's motorcade is being remembered this week after a deadly crash in Dallas.

Local motorcycle officers say the accident is a reminder of how dangerous it is to participate in motorcycle escorts.

State trooper Greg Ulrich still remembers the anxiety he felt when he first started escorting official motorcades.

"The night before the escort, I couldn't sleep because I know how dangerous it was and I know other guys could get hurt," he said.

Now in his ninth year as a motorcycle officer, trooper Ulrich says working motorcades is still the most dangerous part of his job. When escorting presidential candidates, sports teams or world dignitaries, escorts can reach speeds of 120 miles per hour as they race from the back of the pack to the front to block off the next intersection.

"We are going by them at 120 miles per hour, if they decide they are going to drift over into a different lane, one of us can get killed or get hurt," Ulrich said.

The danger extends to funeral processions, where numerous motorcycle escorts have been killed or hurt. In 2002, eastside fire captain Mike Coffey was hit by a car while escorting a funeral procession in Seattle. In 2005, a Seattle police motorcycle officer injured her leg as she headed to a funeral for a fellow officer.

With so many things to watch out for, officers say the risk is higher for losing control or getting blindsided by cars.

"In downtown Seattle, you're dealing with pedestrians, everybody's gotta get somewhere, a lot of people aren't patient enough to wait," Ulrich said. "They don't understand what we're doing."

Ulrich says while officers who participate in official motorcades may receive more extensive training, as compared to private companies that escort funerals, the danger is the same and officers must be very careful.

"In the back of my head I know if I mess up someone can get hurt," he said.