Law enforcement agencies across the country are taking measures to improve body armor for officers, after a series of fatal shootings targeting police.
High-powered rifles were used in just over one-fifth of deadly shooting attacks on law enforcement officers, as seen recently in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to The Washington Times. In response, departments are ordering tougher bulletproof vests and ballistic helmets to protect officers.
"The men and women of law enforcement are facing a high number of incidents where the assaults and the assassination of law enforcement officers warrants the availability of this equipment," said Michael McHale, president of the National Association of Police Organizations. "They are in many situations being outdone."
"In the event of multiple, simultaneous attacks, countless lives could be saved by equipping patrol officers with the appropriate weapons and giving them the training needed to engage terrorists immediately instead of waiting for specialized units to respond," Patrick J. Lynch, president of the New York Police Department's Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, told the Times.
"Every patrol car should be a mini-counterterrorism unit with heavy weapons, ballistic vests and helmets, and every officer should be fully trained to respond to a terrorist attack."
Out of 684 officer deaths from 2010 to 2014, 129 were killed by firearms, including 27 where a rifle was used, according to a study from the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
This year, 34 police officers have been shot and killed, up 79 percent from 19 last year.
The study also found that a third of officers who were killed were responding to a call alone, without a backup, and most often when sent to a domestic dispute.
Guy Cordner, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania emeritus professor of criminal justice, told The Washington Post that the report's recommendations were "pretty useful."
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