According to official data, the number of police officers slain in the line of duty this year is likely to surpass the number of deaths in the same period last year, adding to the growing risk of violence that law enforcement has had to deal with in recent years.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Law Enforcement police Killed and Assaulted data collection shows that as of Aug. 9, 41 police nationwide have died while performing their duties in 2023. By the same time in 2022, the bureau reported 39 similar felony deaths.
This week, a body camera footage of a Connecticut police officer fighting for her life as a man charged at her with a hammer while she responded to a noise complaint put that war on full display. It was the most recent instance of the deadly kind of attack on cops.
If an offender’s willful and intentional action directly caused an officer’s death, the FBI considers it to have been a felony. According to the FBI, 61 policemen nationwide lost their lives while working under similar conditions by the end of last year.
The number of fatalities last year continued a worrisome trend over the previous ten years, while being down from the 71 police killed in 2021, which was the greatest death toll since 72 officers perished in 2011.
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32 Police Officers Shot Dead in Current Year
64 police officers were slain in 2022, according to data gathered by the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, up 21% from the 53 deaths each year on average between 2010 and 2020.
32 police officers have been shot dead this year so far, and four have been hit by vehicles. The remaining victims were subjected to additional techniques and weapons.
According to Patrick Yoes, president of the National Fraternal Order of Police (NFOP), 2022 was one of the most dangerous years in recent memory for law enforcement because of the rise in violence against them as well as the national crime issue.
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