Report: Shooting deaths of law enforcement spike in 2016

[NaturalHigh]

Shooting deaths of law enforcement officers spiked 78 percent in the first half of 2016 compared to last year, including an alarming increase in ambush-style assaults like the ones that killed eight officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, according to a report released Wednesday.

However, data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund shows that firearms-related deaths of officers in the line of duty are still lower than they were during previous decades like the 1970s.

Thirty-two officers died in firearms-related incidents so far this year including 14 that were ambush-style attacks, according to the report. During the same period last year, 18 officers were shot and killed in the line of duty including three that were considered ambush attacks.

"That's a very alarming, shocking increase in the number of officers who are being literally assassinated because of the uniform they wear and the job that they do," said Craig W. Floyd, who heads the organization.


http://www.newson6.com/story/32549490/report-shooting-deaths-of-law-enforcement-spike-in-2016

[yallerdawg]

1. Really small numbers yield extraordinary percentages.

Despite the recent high-profile shootings of police, the average number of officers shot and killed on the job is significantly lower than in previous decades. Floyd said during the 1970s, there was an average of 127 officers shot and killed yearly; during the last ten years through 2015, the average number shot and killed is 52. He cited the reduction in violent crime in recent decades and said officers have benefited from the widespread introduction of body armor and improved trauma care if they do get shot.

Isn't this alarming, too?

Officer Involved Incident Subject-Suspect-Perpetrator Shot/Killed 2016 (to date) 1,033

http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/subject-suspect-perpetrator-shot-killed

[GeorgeGist]

2. Texas leads with 14.

[NaturalHigh]

4. I read that. It's dangerous to be a cop in Texas these days.

[Bucky]

3. This is horrible. We're becoming less civilized. This is the NRA fantasy come true

[Calculating]

5. This all could have been avoided

If there was just some semblance of accountability when cops mess up. Instead, cops kept on getting away with all kinds of abuses until people started getting fed up with it.

[Bucky]

6. The thing about gun violence is... you can't really "avoid" it

You can lessen it with better policies.

Prosecute cops who abuse their power,

train the police better in controlling escalating situations,

diversify the police forces, put more effort into building cultural bridges between cops and poor communities of all colors,

and create more job opportunities in disenfranchised communities where police interactions are more likely to escalate.

The 40 police shot by civilians and the 1000 civilians shot by cops is one of those problems we can solve by thinking smarter and trying harder. But there are too many pols who want to gain power by being divisive.