US

Ambush Attacks on Officers Up 115% from 2020

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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.