Report: Cops shot and killed up 78 percent after Dallas, Baton Rouge
Jul 27, 2016, 8:03 PM | Updated: Jul 28, 2016, 9:24 pm
(Patrick Dennis/Baton Rouge Advocate via AP, Pool)
The number of cops shot and killed is up 78 percent compared to this time last year according to a National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund report.
“There’s 32 dead so far this year, and that includes 14 ambush-style attacks,” said Ken Crane president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA), who added that number includes Phoenix officer David Glasser who was shot and killed in May.
Part of what is contributing to that is the officers recently killed in Dallas and Baton Rouge, he said.
“It’s kind of shocking, but I guess not surprising considering the current climate in the country,” Crane said.
Crane added PLEA has sent letters asking Phoenix city leaders to give officers a choice to ride double-up in two-man patrol units.
“We believe that officer safety, right now at this time in our nation’s history and what we’re seeing nationally; officer safety comes ahead of response times to the community,” he said.
The safety issue arises, Crane said, from Phoenix Police Department being 600 officers down from where they should be to have their authorized strength.
Nationally the report shows 67 federal, state and local law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty this year, increasing eight percent over the 62 officers killed in the same period last year. The fallen officers were 63 males, four females with an average age of 39 and each officer left behind an average of two children.
However, the report also shows that officers shot in the line of duty are still lower than previous decades.