Report: Officers shot and killed in line of duty rose in 2016, including two in Arizona

PHOENIX — The number of police officers shot and killed in the line of duty rose to 64 this year, including two in Arizona, according to the latest statistics from the Officer Down Memorial Page.

The two officers shot and killed in Arizona included Phoenix Police Officer David Glasser and Show Low Police Officer Darrin Reed.

Glasser died in May from his injuries after being shot by a suspect while responding to an emergency call near 51st Avenue and Baseline Road. Reed was shot and killed in November by a man who sparked a six-hour manhunt and took a 15-year-old girl hostage before being ultimately killed by police.

“We’ve never seen a year in my memory when we’ve had an increase of this magnitude in officer shooting deaths,” said Craig Floyd, president and chief executive of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. “These officers were killed simply because of the uniform they wear and the job they do. This is unacceptable to the humane society that we are.”

Overall, 135 law enforcement officers died nationwide between Jan. 1 and Dec. 28, 2016. The larger number of officers also counts K9s and officers who were killed in traffic accidents and Sept. 11 attack-related illnesses.

Two Arizona police officers died in car accidents in 2016: Navajo Nation Police Officer Leander Frank and Border Patrol Agent Manuel Alvarez. A Kingman Police Department K9 died of heat exhaustion in August 2016.

Texas had the highest number of police officers who died in the line of duty in 2016, with 19. California followed shortly behind with 11. Just six female police officers died while on duty, compared to 132 male police officers, according to the 2016 statistics.

In 2015, just 41 police officers were shot and killed while in the line of duty, according to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. In total, 123 police officers died of various causes while on duty in 2015. Over the past 10 years, the highest number of police shot and killed in the line of duty came in 2011, with 73 officers killed.

According to the Washington Post, 955 people have been shot and killed by police from Jan. 1 to Dec. 29, 2016.

In Dallas, a sniper on July 7 attacked at the end of what had been a peaceful rally against police brutality. He killed five law enforcement officers and wounded nine others — the largest death toll among law enforcement from a single event since the 9/11 attacks, which killed 72 officers.

Less than two weeks after the Dallas attack, a lone gunman in Baton Rouge shot and killed three officers and wounded three others outside a convenience store in the weeks after a black man, 37-year-old Alton Sterling, was shot and killed by police during a struggle.

That was underscored by the slaying in November of a San Antonio detective who was fatally shot and killed outside police headquarters as he was writing a traffic ticket. The man accused of shooting him said he was angry about a child-custody battle and simply “lashed out at somebody who didn’t deserve it.”

Floyd said the impact of this year has been profound on law enforcement. Agencies are struggling to recruit officers to their ranks and those who continue to serve “talk about how their head is now on a swivel.”

“They’re always looking over their shoulder, always worrying about the next attack that could come at any time from any direction,” Floyd said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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