Crime
WAR ON COPS: 13 police officers across U.S. shot in 24 hours
The attacks on law enforcement officers happened in four states – Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania
February 15, 2022 12:49pm
Updated: February 16, 2022 1:04pm
Thirteen American police officers were wounded in shootings over a single 24-hour period on Friday.
"This is what we call the war on cops," Betsy Brantner Smith, spokeswoman for the National Police Association and a 29-year police veteran who trains officers, told Fox News Digital.
"[W]e are constantly attacked, and we are either attacked doing very simple things — traffic stop, responding to a 911 call, a domestic. All of that," Branter Smith added.
The attacks happened in four states – Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania.
Nine of the 13 were wounded during a single incident on Friday morning in Phoenix, Arizona. Officers initially responded to a domestic dispute, where they were invited inside before an adult male suspect opened fire. Backup arrived as the suspect barricade himself inside, with eight more injured by gunfire, ricochets, and shrapnel before they got inside and found the shooter dead.
Two more police officers were shot in Frederick, Maryland, responding to a report of a suspicious, armed man. Both officers and the suspect were injured in the firefight and flown to a local hospital.
A New Mexico officer was shot after chasing a vehicle that had rammed into his police car.
And on Friday evening, a Philadelphia SWAT team officer was shot serving a drug warrant.
The FBI reports 73 law enforcement officers were intentionally killed in the line of duty – the most since 1995. This is a near-60% increase from the 46 intentionally killed in 2020.
Law enforcement advocates blame the increased danger faced by law enforcement on anti-police rhetoric and progressive criminal justice reform that allows repeat offenders to go free.
"When you constantly tell people that this one entity — somebody in a blue or a bright green uniform — is dangerous to you and that you should resist them, of course we're going to have increased attacks on law enforcement," said Brantner Smith. "And, unfortunately, not only has it become a big media issue, but it's become a huge political issue."
