Attacks on police
officers hit a record high in 2021, according to a study by a national law
enforcement advocacy group released Monday.
In 2021, 346 officers were shot while performing their
duties, according to the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) report, marking more than a 10% increase from
2020 and an 18% increase from 2019....
Sixty-three officers died in the line of duty in 2021 by gunfire,
although some passed as a result of wounds suffered as a result of attacks
prior to 2021, according to the FOP report.
A spokesperson for the FOP told the Daily Caller News
Foundation that the organization only tracked attacks using firearms.
FBI figures through late November 2021
indicate that of a total 67 police officer deaths characterized as felonious in
2021, 55 involved firearms, six involved vehicles,
four involved “personal weapons” and two involved “knives/cutting instruments.”
“Officers are always susceptible to life-threatening
attacks and therefore must always be vigilant and maintain the highest level of
situational awareness,” the report said.
The report noted that while many dangers may be mitigated,
“ambush-style and other calculated attacks on law enforcement” were becoming
more prevalent, with 103 such attacks taking place in 2021, up 115% from 2020.
Among the officers listed in the report was Keona Holley
of the Baltimore Police Department, who was removed from life support in December — two
men were arrested in relation to her death.