‘One Every Five Days’: FBI Director Shares Grim Stats On Police Deaths

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Sunday on “60 Minutes” that the rate at which police officers are being murdered is higher than the general spike in violent crime.

Wray said the murder rate of police officers jumped 59% in 2021 while the total murder rate rose 29% during the same time period. Wray said 73 police officers were murdered in 2021.

“Violence against law enforcement in this country is one of the biggest phenomena that I think doesn’t get enough attention,” Wray said, noting one officer was being killed “every five days” last year.

“Some of it is tied to the violent crime problem as a whole. But one of the phenomena that we saw in the last year is that an alarming percentage of the 73 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty last year were killed through things like being ambushed or shot while out on patrol.”

“Wearing the badge shouldn’t make you a target,” he added. (RELATED: Man Fatally Shoots Police Officer Responding To Domestic Dispute, Then Turns Gun On Himself)

The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) released a study in January showing attacks on police officers hit a record high in 2021, with 364 officers having been shot while in the line of duty. The report noted that “ambush-style and other calculated attacks on law enforcement” were becoming more prevalent, with 103 such attacks taking place in 2021, up 115% from 2020.

The FOP said as of April 1, 101 officers have been shot in the line of duty in 2022, with 17 of the officers having been fatally shot. The FOP said the statistic is a 43% increase compared to the number of officers shot during the same time period last year, while making a 63% increase compared to 2020.