At least 30 police and law enforcement officers were shot in the month of January – up 67% from the same time last year, new statistics show, as the head of the country’s largest police union calls the violence against cops “the worst I have ever seen.”
Five of the 30 officers shot in the line of duty were killed, and four of the shootings were “ambush-style attacks,” the National Fraternal Order of Police said in a Tuesday press release. The union found that five officers were shot and three were killed by the ambush gunfire.
“The number of ambush-style attacks listed does not include the countless incidents where an officer was shot at but not struck by gunfire during an ambush-style attack,” the FOP report states.
The statistics account for the shootings in New York City, where two officers were killed and three more were wounded, and Houston, where four have been shot this month. Three officers were shot in Wisconsin, and three more were wounded in Georgia. Other states that reported officers shot include Nevada, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, California, Illinois, North Carolina, New Mexico, Montana and Washington State, the group found. An officer was also struck in Washington, D.C.
“In just the first month of 2022, we saw the real-life consequences of and felt the immense pain caused by the recent surge in violent crime and the heinous acts of cowardly individuals whose sole motivation is to injure or kill a law enforcement officer,” Yoes said. “No officer should be at risk of being violently targeted simply because of the uniform they wear.”
He said violence toward law enforcement “is skyrocketing” as crime rates also climb.
“I have worked in law enforcement for 36 years,” he continued, “and the current level of violence targeted at our law enforcement officers is the worst I have ever seen.”
On Tuesday – the same day the FOP report was released – hundreds, if not thousands, gathered to begin saying their final goodbyes to New York Police Department (NYPD) Officer Wilbert Mora.
Mora, a 27-year-old officer with the New York Police Department’s 32 Precinct in Harlem, died on Jan. 25 – four days after he was shot in the head by a domestic violence suspect.
His partner, Det. Jason Rivera, was also killed. The suspect allegedly used a high-capacity magazine and a handgun, both of which were found to have been stolen.
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Earlier this week, Yoes slammed White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki “for mocking and belittling Americans’ concerns about the nation’s skyrocketing crime rates and increased violence.” The comments were made after Psaki criticized Fox News over its coverage crime coverage.
