Police Deaths Increased in 2016; Fueled by Ambushes, Shootings

Shocking ambushes and fatal shootings sparked an increase in police deaths in 2016, The Washington Post reports.

With just days remaining in 2016, 135 police officers have been killed — a 10 percent increase over 2015 when 123 died.

So far this year, sixty-four police deaths came from shootings — an increase from 41 at this point last year, the Post reports citing figures from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a group which monitors line-of-duty deaths.

About one in three of the officers who were fatally wounded died in ambush attacks. Eight officers died in assaults in Dallas and Baton Rouge alone.

The Post notes that while the total number of police deaths increased over 2015, they are still down from the 1974 total when 280 officers died.

But using the memorial fund's data, the Post reports the number of officers killed by gunfire in 2016 is up 56 percent over last year — the largest jump on record.

Craig W. Floyd, president and chief executive of the memorial fund, attributed some of the shootings to the "deadly mix" of mentally ill people with firearms. Another, factor, he said, was anti-government extremists looking to make a deadly statement.

"They in many cases have called 911 and waited for the police to arrive," he said. Before this year more officers were killed in traffic accidents than gunfire in 15 of the last 20 years, according to the Post.

According to the memorial fund, Texas has recorded the most police deaths in 2016 — 17, while California was second with 10.

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