CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The FBI said there was a rise in the number of police officers who were assaulted while on duty last year compared to 2019.
The FBI reported there were more than 60,000 police officers assaulted while doing their jobs last year. That’s more than 4,000 more than in 2019.
Of those officers attacked, more than 18,000 of them were injured, according to the FBI.
Last year, there was a summer full of mob actions that broke out after peaceful protests over police brutality starting with the killing of George Floyd by police in Minnesota. Still, almost a third of attacks against police came during calls to disturbances among families or bar fights.
According to FBI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie, “Domestics, as we call them, are situations that are full of possibilities for situations to become exaggerated and potentially become more violence. Also, traffic stops, there’s the potential for that.”
Buie continued, telling WBBM Newsradio, “Unfortunately, it’s scary because it’s an indication that violence is going up and, as a law enforcement officer and being part of the law enforcement community, our number one charge is to serve and protect the community.”
Buie said the attacks may be prompted by other reasons, too.
“There is an amount of fear and distrust, unfortunately, in today’s climate so law enforcement has to take added efforts to try to build that trust back, build that relationship back,” he said.
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He added that, police departments learn from attacks how to tweak their training in an effort to reduce assaults against police.
As for officers killed in the line of duty during crimes, the FBI said there were 61 so far this year compared to 40 at this time last year.
According to the FBI:
— 44,421 officers were assaulted with personal weapons (e.g., hands, fists, or feet); 25.8% of these officers were injured.
— 2,744 officers were assaulted with firearms; 6.1% of these officers were injured.
— 1,180 officers were assaulted with knives or other cutting instruments; 9.7% of these officers were injured.
— The remaining 11,760 officers were assaulted with other types of dangerous weapons; 16.8% of these officers were injured.
Circumstances
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Of all officers who were assaulted in 2020, agencies reported officers were involved in these circumstances at the scenes of the assaults:
— Responding to disturbance calls such as family quarrels or bar fights (29.6%)
— Attempting other arrests (16.1%)
— Handling, transporting, or maintaining custody of prisoners (12.6%)
— Investigating suspicious persons or circumstances (8.8%)
— Traffic pursuits or stops (8.4%)
— Civil disorder, such as mass disobedience or riots (4.1%)
— Handling persons with mental illness (3.9%)
— Burglaries in progress or pursuing burglary suspects (1.3%)
— Ambush situations (0.8%)
— Robberies in progress or pursuing robbery suspects (0.8%)
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