‘Unlike Anything I’ve Seen’: The Number Of Police Officers Shot In The Line Of Duty Has More Than Doubled Since 2020

By Erinn Broadus

Thirty-four officers were shot while on duty in Jan. 2023, a 113% increase from this time in 2020, the National Fraternal Order of Police reported on Monday.

Last year, 331 police officers were shot and 62 killed on duty, according to the report, a substantial increase from 2020 where 312 were shot and 47 killed, and four years prior when 237 officers were shot and 53 killed.

Of those shot last month, nine were shot in ambush-style attacks, the report states. Ambush attacks are when an officer is surprised by gunfire without any warning or way of defending themselves.

There were 88 ambush-style attacks on police officers last year, according to a statement released at the end of 2022 by the President of the Fraternal Order of Police Patrick Yoes. The attacks left 125 officers shot and 31 dead.

The states with the most officer shootings last month were California, Minnesota, and Texas—each with three occurrences, according to the FOP report. A police officer was shot in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, on Jan. 25 after responding to a call about felony domestic assault, U.S. News reported. He is expected to recover.

In Selma, California, a police officer was shot and killed Feb. 1 after a woman flagged him down and alerted him to a suspicious car, according to NBC News. When the officer got to the car, he was shot multiple times and later died at the hospital.

“This past year has been one of the most dangerous years for law enforcement in recent history due to the increase of violence directed towards law enforcement officers as well as the nationwide crime crisis,” Yoes said.

“Frankly, it is unlike anything I’ve seen in my 36 years of law enforcement,” he continued.

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