Over the course of 2014 and the months leading into 2015, the issue of alleged police brutality from Ferguson to Baltimore has been a hot topic of news cycles, race baiters like Al Sharpton and advocacy groups. But despite what many in the media would have us believe, police are human beings too and they get up everyday to do a dangerous job not many thank them for. They too deserve justice when things go wrong and especially when they lose their lives.
According to new statistics and data released today by the FBI, police shootings were up 89 percent in 2014 one officer was killed with his own gun.
Preliminary statistics released today by the FBI show that 51 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2014. This is an increase of almost 89 percent when compared to the 27 officers killed in 2013. (Note: From 1980–2014, an average of 64 law enforcement officers have been feloniously killed per year. The 2013 total, 27, was the lowest during this 35-year period.) By region, 17 officers died as a result of criminal acts that occurred in the South, 14 officers in the West, eight officers in the Midwest, eight in the Northeast, and four in Puerto Rico.
By circumstance, 11 officers died from injuries inflicted as a result of answering disturbance calls (one of which was a domestic disturbance). Ten officers were conducting traffic pursuits or stops, eight were killed as a result of ambushes (six due to entrapment/premeditated situations and two during unprovoked attacks), and six officers were investigating suspicious persons or circumstances. Five officers sustained fatal injuries while they were performing investigative activities, four while they were engaged in tactical situations, three officers were handling persons with mental illness, and one officer was slain during a drug-related matter. Three officers were killed while attempting other arrests.
Thirty-five of the slain officers were confirmed to be wearing body armor at the times of the incidents. Five of the 51 officers killed fired their own weapons, and six officers attempted to fire their service weapons. Seven victim officers had their weapons stolen; one officer was killed with his own weapon.
The FBI notes final statistics will be available in the fall as part of the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report publication.
Over the weekend, two police officers were killed in Mississippi during a routine traffic stop. In January, Flagstaff Police Officer Tyler Stewart, who was just 24-years-old, was killed during a domestic violence call. In December, NYPD Police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjuan Liu were ambushed while eating lunch in their patrol car. These are just a few recent examples, there are many more.
It seems while the Department of Justice continues to meddle in the affairs of local police stations, attorneys should investigate the significant increase. Blue lives matter. We should never forget that.
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