The number of police officers intentionally rammed by vehicles, killed by gunfire, or stabbed to death has increased over 40% throughout the first six months of 2021 compared to last year as crime in major cities in the United States continues to rise, a review by the Washington Examiner found.
A total of 38 law enforcement personnel have been killed so far this year, equating to a 41% increase compared to data from 2020, according to tabulations made by the Officer Down Memorial Page. By June 19 of last year, 27 officers were pronounced dead in circumstances considered homicides out of a total of 50 who died in a similar fashion throughout 2020 as a whole.
In 2019, 24 officers were killed in the same frame, equating to a 58% increase this year, while in 2018, 33 were killed in a similar fashion, a 15% jump. In 2017, 27 were killed, a 41% increase, and in 2016, only 22 were pronounced dead in circumstances considered homicides, equating to a 73% uptick in 2021.
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In total, 58 policemen were killed in 2019, 59 were pronounced dead in circumstances considered homicides in 2018, 54 were killed intentionally in 2017, and 72 were killed in all of 2016.
So far in 2021, 153 law enforcement personnel, in addition to nine K-9 officers, have been pronounced dead when COVID-19, duty-related illnesses, accidental vehicle crashes, drownings, and 9/11-related ailments are factored in.
Iowa Correctional Officer Robert McFarland was beaten to death with a hammer on March 23, Sgt. Dominic Vaca of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in California was shot dead during an ambush in pursuit of a fleeing motorcyclist on May 31, and Officer Dominic Jared Winum of the Stanley Police Department in Virginia was riddled with bullets during a traffic stop before he could exit his patrol car on Feb. 26.
In one of the most well-known incidents on April 2, U.S. Capitol Police Officer William Evans was rammed and killed with a car outside the Capitol building in Washington by a knife-wielding man who was later shot dead. Evans later laid in honor within the Capitol Rotunda, an honor seldom reserved for anyone other than an influential U.S. political figure or foreign dignitary.
Earlier in June, FBI Director Christopher Wray drew attention to what he called a “troubling” trend in police killings.
“Over the past year, we’ve seen a troubling uptake in violence against members of the law enforcement community,” Wray said on June 10 during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.
“To put that in perspective, that’s almost two law enforcement officers shot and killed every week, and that’s not counting all those officers who’ve died in the line of duty facing the countless other inherent dangers of the job, like racing in pursuit of a suspect, and dying in a car accident, or drowning in an attempted rescue, or even the scores of officers who have died from COVID-19, because law enforcement, of course, kept coming to work every day, right through the teeth of the pandemic,” he added.
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In addition to the rise in killed police officers, alarming crime surges have been noted throughout the country over the past few months. In New York City, authorities for the month of May reported a 73% increase in shooting incidents, a 47% uptick in robbery, and a 21% jump in felony assault when paired with data from the same time frame in 2020.
In Atlanta, murder is up 58%, rape has risen 98%, aggravated assault has seen a 28% jump, thefts from vehicles surged 27%, and the rate of grand theft auto is up 36% so far in 2021, compared to police statistics from 2020. Similar trends have been noted by police in Baltimore, where nonfatal shootings have risen 16%, gun-related homicides are up 9%, and attempted rape rose 44% so far in 2021, in contrast to 2020.
