NEW ORLEANS -- Shooting deaths of law enforcement officers spiked 78 percent through July 20 of this year compared with the same period last year, including an increase in ambush-style assaults like the ones that killed eight officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, according to a report released Wednesday.
However, data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund shows that firearms-related deaths of officers in the line of duty are still lower than they were during previous decades, such as the 1970s.
Thirty-two officers had been fatally shot as of July 20, including 14 in ambush-style attacks, according to the report. During the same period last year, 18 officers were shot and killed in the line of duty, and three were considered ambush attacks.
"That's a very alarming, shocking increase in the number of officers who are being literally assassinated because of the uniform they wear and the job that they do," said Craig Floyd, who heads the organization.
The organization usually releases a midyear report tracking fatalities for the first six months but decided to extend the period because of the July attacks in Dallas and Baton Rouge against police officers. So the report goes from the beginning of January to July 20 and compares it to the same period last year. On its website, the organization also keeps a running tally of officers who died in the line of duty. Those figures through Tuesday show that 33 officers have been shot and killed this year.
The report comes at a time of heightened tension between police officers and those in black neighborhoods across the country. Two police officers and one sheriff's deputy were shot and killed during an ambush July 17 in Baton Rouge by a black gunman who was later killed by responding officers. In Dallas, a black gunman opened fire on police during a July 7 protest against recent police shootings of black suspects; the gunman killed five officers before being killed by authorities.
A total of 67 officers have died in the line of duty in 2016, according to the report. That figure includes officers who died in traffic accidents, fatal falls or airplane crashes.
Texas leads the nation in the number of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty with 14 deaths this year, including the five in Dallas. Louisiana ranked second with seven officers who died in the line of duty, including the three in Baton Rouge.
Despite the recent high-profile shootings of police, the average number of officers shot and killed on the job is significantly lower than in previous decades. Floyd said that during the 1970s, there was an average of 127 officers shot and killed yearly; during the 10 years through 2015, the average number shot and killed was 52. He cited the reduction in violent crime in recent decades and said officers have benefited from the widespread introduction of body armor and improved trauma care if they do get shot.
But he noted a worrying increase in recent years in anti-police and anti-government sentiment.
A Section on 07/28/2016