Multiple police shootings around the country leave the public worried for the safety of police officers.
The deaths of law enforcement have spiked 78 percent this year compared to 2015. However, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, the number of firearm related deaths among law enforcement are lower than previous decades.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund releases mid-year reports to track these statistics. Due to recent shootings targeting law enforcement in Dallas and Baton Rouge, the period was extended to include these events. From the beginning of this year through July 26, thirty-three deaths have been reported of law enforcement.
Looking at these statistics, it is a sharp increase from last year. The report from 2015 reported eighteen deaths of police officers, including three that are considered ambush attacks.
"That's a very alarming, shocking increase in the number of officers who are being literally assassinated because of the uniform they wear and the job that they do," Craig W. Floyd said, who is the leader of this organization, to Fox News.
Texas has the highest number of killed police officers this year, at fourteen, which includes the five deaths from the Dallas shooting. Louisiana ranks second highest with seven told deaths of police officers, including the three killed in Baton Rouge.
Despite the unsettling amount of police shootings recently, the average number of officers killed in the line of duty are still significantly lower than previous decades. In the 1970s, the average number of officers killed in the line of duty was 127, according to Floyd. Within the last decade until the year 2015, the average number of police officers killed on duty was fifty-two, according to Floyd.
With the recent shootings that have taken place across the country, local police department at Wright State University had to take a good look at their own security.
Patrick Ammon, a member of the Wright State University Police Department for thirteen years, does not feel unsafe despite the recent increased shootings among law enforcement.
"We do a job that is not safe daily. We know that bad things can happen to us when we get into this profession," Ammon said. "We stay alert and focused on the objective, which is to keep the community safe. In the end, we want to go home to our families, so we stay alert at all times."
These recent tragedies paired with the ongoing political campaigns left President Obama with strong words for the public, while giving an address after the shooting in Baton Rouge.
"Everyone right now should focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further. We don't need inflammatory rhetoric.We don't need careless accusations thrown around to score political points or score an agenda," Obama said. "We need to temper our words and open our hearts."
