In the first two months of 2022 a horrific number of officers have died in the line of duty. Over 60 police officers in the US have been shot. According to the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), as violent crime continues to plague many cities across the country.
The FOP reports 67 officers were shot in the line of duty so far in 2022, a 40 percent increase from 2021 year-to-date; and a 76 percent increase from 2020 year-to-date. Of the 67 officers who were shot, 9 of them were killed by gunfire.
There have been 13 ambush-style attacks on law enforcement officers this year, resulting in 24 officers shot, with 4 being killed.
This, right here, is why Democrats are trying to distance themselves from their failed ‘defund the police’ movement. They aligned themselves with that movement for political gain, let it sink them.
🚨 The State of Policing in America ➡️ Criminals don’t care about shooting police officers, as they no longer fear the consequences for their actions because there often aren't any #SOTU
⚠️ 67 officers shot so far this year (⬆️ 76% from 2020 YTD)
⚠️ 24 shot in 13 ambush attacks pic.twitter.com/wTe10lPK1L
— National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@GLFOP) March 1, 2022
In a letter to Massitusesis Representatives, Patrick Yoes, National President of FOP urged lawmakers support the bill H.R. 3079, , the “Protect and Serve Act:
“Officers in every community across the country, including your district, are experiencing increased violence deliberately targeting them. For example, on 20 January 2022, in New Springville, New York, a detective with the New York City Police Department was shot while executing a narcotics search warrant. The officers had entered the property and were advancing towards a bedroom when the suspect opened fire through a door.
One detective was struck in the leg but was able to hold up a ballistic shield to protect his fellow officers. The other officers were able to return fire, wounding the suspect, who was then taken into custody. Fortunately, the injured detective received swift medical
care, but according to sources, it is likely this injury will end his career as a law enforcement officer. This is the type of senseless violence aimed, literally, at law enforcement officers which the “Protect and Serve Act” addresses.
In 2021, 346 were shot in the line of duty, 63 of whom were killed. The lethality of these attacks would have been much greater but for the dramatic improvements in medical trauma science—as the injury to the aforementioned detective found out first-hand—and anti-ballistic technology. One hundred and thirty officers were shot in 103 separate ambush-style attacks, which resulted in 30 officers being killed by gunfire.
The 115% increase of ambush-style attacks from 2021 to 2020 is another stark reminder that our law enforcement officers are not just in harm’s way due to the dangerous nature of their profession, but that they are the targets of cowardly individuals whose sole motivation is to injure or kill a law enforcement officer.
In light of these chilling facts, we are asking you to cosponsor H.R. 3079 to address the national problem of ambushes and unprovoked attacks on our nation’s law enforcement .”