This is not a good statistic to have.
Shocking new data shows more police officers have been killed in the line of duty during President Biden’s administration’s first year in office than any recording in the last 25 years.
At the beginning of 2020, officer line-of-duty deaths reached a record high because of COVID-19. Killings also increased, according to data from the FBI’s law enforcement officers killed in action (LEOKA).
Jason Johnson, a 20-year police veteran and the president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, said the organization believed it is a combination of “the George Floyd protests” a “general feeling of a preference for less law enforcement; and less prosecution and less policing.”
He continued, saying “Law enforcement officers have essentially been marginalized and demoralized and cast aside and encouraged not to enforce the law. And so we’ve seen massive jumps in the homicide rate in cities across America.”
Johnson pointed to rising homicide rates in major cities across the U.S. leading to “more officers being assaulted” as a result of “leaders in these cities and leaders in Congress and leaders in the White House” voicing “a lack of respect for law enforcement officers.”
The data by the FBI shows a somber reality. In 2021, the FBI revealed 73 officers were intentionally killed in the line of duty, almost a 59% increase from 2020’s 46.
1995 Was the last time more than 72 officers were killed. As LEOKA data revealed, 74 police officers were intentionally killed in 1995. After that, 2011 saw 72 intentional police officer on-duty killings.
In 2012 that number was 55, 2013 it was 27, 51 in 2014, 41 in 2015, 66 in 2016, 46 in 2017, 56 in 2018 and 48 in 2019.
These numbers follow growing tension between law enforcement officers and the public after the killing of George Floyd in 2020. The event launched a nationwide conversation about police violence, racial bias in policing, and policies to prevent police violence against civilians. However, the conversation surrounding these topics culminated in heightened animosity among activists and politicians toward the police.
Speaking on the matter, Johnson said that “Police don’t expect you to be supportive if what they’ve done is wrong.” Instead, he said they were asking President Joe Biden and his administration not to “make premature, judgmental and frankly wrong comments” every time a viral video comes out.
