FBI: 60,000 law enforcement officers assaulted in 2020

Oct. 19 (UPI) — More than 60,000 law enforcement officers were assaulted in the line of duty last year, according to the FBI.

Last year, 60,105 officers were assaulted, according to data released Monday by the FBI, which is 4,071 more officers assaulted compared to the 56,034 reported in 2019, and it is the second highest number of assaults in the last decade.

The number highlights a trend of growing assaults against law enforcement agents over the past 10 years. According to data from the FBI’s Law Enforcement Data Explorer, the number of police officers assaulted a year has gradually increased from 53,469 in 2010 to more than 60,000.

In the past 10 years, the fewest officers assaulted was recorded in 2014 at 48,315 with the most being in 2017 when 60,211 were assaulted.

The data released this week states that 44,421 officers last year were kicked or punched, resulting in nearly 26% of them suffering injures; 2,744 were assaulted with firearms, with 6.1% being injured; 1,180 officers were assaulted with knives or similar objects, resulting in 9.7% being injured; and 11,760 were assault with “other types of dangerous weapons,” with nearly 17% being injured.

Of all officers assaulted, nearly 31% suffered injuries, it said.

So far for this year, 54 officers have been feloniously killed, an increase from 37 officers for all of last year and 34 in 2019, according to FBI data.