Data Shows 283 Police Officers Shot, 44 Killed, So Far This Year

Tom Ozimek
By Tom Ozimek
December 2, 2020US News
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Data Shows 283 Police Officers Shot, 44 Killed, So Far This Year
A Chicago police badge hangs in front of the City of Chicago Public Safety Headquarters in Chicago, Ill., on Dec. 1, 2015. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

New statistics from the nation’s biggest police union show that 283 law enforcement officers have been shot so far this year, and 44 of them have been killed.

The Fraternal Order of Police said in a statement on Tuesday that the figures represent a seven percent increase in the number of officers shot compared to the same period last year, and a 28 percent rise compared to 2018.

“Violence targeted against our officers MUST be condemned by all!” the FOP said, adding that “the disturbing trend of attacks on law enforcement should alarm all Americans.”

Chicago, a hotspot of gun-related violence, has seen an alarming spike in shootings targeting police officers. The number of incidents in which law enforcement officers were shot or shot at has grown by over 294 percent year-to-date compared to the same period last year, according to Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown. There have been 71 such incidents so far this year, compared to 18 last year, and 20 the year before, he noted.

“At no point in recent memory have our #ChicagoPolice officers ever faced such a level of inherent danger while performing their duties,” Brown said in a statement. “Yet they continue to bravely serve with honor each day and night.”

It comes on the heels of a report last week from the Chicago Police Department (pdf), which noted 2,974 shooting incidents so far this year, compared to 1,940 by the same time in 2019, a 53 percent increase. The report also noted that homicides in Chicago were up by the same percentage, with 700 so far in 2020, compared to 458 by the same period in 2019.

NTD Photo
Police secure the scene of a shooting in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood in Chicago, Ill., on July 21, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, law enforcement has come under intense pressure from activists and lawmakers, ranging from calls for targeted reform of tactics and policies, to outright calls to “defund the police.”

Former District of Columbia homicide detective, Ted Williams, told Fox News in an interview that police work is now “in a great state of confusion.”

“When you hear about defunding, disbanding police departments, this certainly is what has created havoc in law enforcement,” Williams said, noting the rise of anti-police sentiment across the country, sapping morale.

“Police officers do not feel that their supervisors, commanders, and city officials have their back, so morale is at an all-time low in police departments all over this country,” he added.

In a statement last week, the Fraternal Order of Police said that “as elected officials continue to push a backwards agenda under the guise of ‘reform,'” many communities are seeing alarming trends like skyrocketing homicide rates and an increase in violence targeting the most vulnerable.

“Blaming our brave police officers for crime instead of the individuals who commit the crime is absolutely disgraceful,” the union said.

From The Epoch Times

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