FBI data showing drop in police deaths undermines 'war on cops' theory
Source: The Guardian
FBI data showing drop in police deaths undermines 'war on cops' theory
Preliminary data show a 20% decrease in number of officers intentionally
killed in the line of duty and the second-lowest total in the past 12 years
Jamiles Lartey
Monday 16 May 2016 20.20 BST
Data released by the FBI show that 2015 was one of the safest years for law enforcement officers in more than a decade.
The preliminary numbers report that 37 US police officers (41 including those from Puerto Rico) were intentionally killed by suspects in the line of duty in 2015, a decrease of 20% from 2014 and the second-lowest total in the past 12 years.
The data seem to undermine concerns that increased criticism of police, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, has fostered a “war on cops”.
“For those who seem to believe that police officers are being killed at higher rates, and that it has something to do with the protests against police misconduct, this really shows you that there’s nothing to that,” said University of Pittsburgh Law professor and policing expert David Harris.
Chuck Canterbury, president of the national Fraternal Order of Police, said he found the FBI data unconvincing.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/16/us-police-deaths-decline-2015-fbi-data
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