Photo: Scene after the first shooting fatality of an officer in 2016, in West Virginia.
Sixty law enforcement officers have been shot and killed—including 20 in ambush-style attacks—according to data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
The data reflects the number of officers killed in firearms-related incidents from January 1 through November 25, 2016. In comparison, 36 officers were shot and killed during the same time in 2015—indicating a 67% increase in firearms-related fatalities in 2016.
Alarmingly, the number of ambush-style attacks has increased 150%.
Craig W. Floyd, president of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, pointed out that only 8 ambush-style attacks occurred in 2015, according to a Fox News report.
Floyd also noted that the number of targeted killings of law enforcement officers is the most since 1995.
Nick Breul, the Memorial Fund’s director of officer safety and wellness, reported that, “In all the cases, the officers were essentially assassinated before they had any contact with the suspect or placed that suspect in jeopardy.”
More than half of the fatalities (37) occured within Texas, California, and Louisiana. However, these tragedies appear to be a nation-wide concern as the ten states with the most fatalities suggests: Texas, California, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Tennessee, and Illinois.
The complete list of Preliminary 2016 Law Enforcement Officer Fatalities
indicates that the shootings of officers occured in 33 states, and that no region of the country has been spared mourning the loss of an officer.
2016 Firearm-Related Fatalities of Officers by State
| State | # of Killings |
| Texas | 18 |
| California | 10 |
| Louisiana | 9 |
| Florida | 6 |
| Georgia | 6 |
| Michigan | 6 |
| Iowa | 5 |
| Ohio | 5 |
| Tennessee | 5 |
| Illinois | 4 |
| Arizona | 3 |
| Colorado | 3 |
| Kansas | 3 |
| Maryland | 3 |
| New York | 3 |
| Pennsylvania | 3 |
| Utah | 3 |
| Virginia | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 3 |
| Arkansas | 2 |
| Massachusetts | 2 |
| Missouri | 2 |
| New Mexico | 2 |
| North Carolina | 2 |
| Alabama | 1 |
| Alaska | 1 |
| Indiana | 1 |
| Mississippi | 1 |
| New Jersey | 1 |
| North Dakota | 1 |
| Oregon | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
| West Virginia | 1 |
The list includes fatalities of officers of local police departments, federal agencies (5), U.S. Territories (4), and tribal law enforcement agencies (1).
With respect and regret, details about most of these incidents can be found in the Officer Down section of LawOfficer.com.
