A new report out found a sharp rise in the number of police officers killed by guns in 2014, including 15 of what the Associated Press calls “ambush” shootings.
As the Associated Press reports:
The number of law enforcement officers killed by firearms jumped by 56 percent this year and included 15 ambush deaths… In 2011, 73 officers were killed in gunfire, the most in any year in the past decade. The average since 2004 is 55 police deaths annually.
In all, the report found that 126 federal, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty in 2014. That’s a 24 percent jump from last year’s 102 on-duty deaths, though below the average annual figures since 2004 and the all-time high of 156 in 1973, said Steve Groeninger, a spokesman for the memorial fund.
Of the 126 officer deaths this year, shootings were the leading cause, followed by traffic-related fatalities, at 49.
So while the number of shootings rose pretty sharply year-over-year for 2014, it’s pretty much in line for the last decade. Of course, the police shooting recently in New York City was horrific; we can only pray it does not inspire copycats in a uniquely politically-charged environment. (Something that may not be possible, as Twitchy reported.
And in this environment, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is meeting with Police Commissioner William Bratton and union heads today.
