Number of law enforcement officers fatally shot this year is up significantly, report says

The attacks on police in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La., that left eight officers dead this month sent waves of fear through law-enforcement agencies across the country, with departments ordering officers to double up on patrols as a safety measure.

These deaths contributed to a grim tally this year. Through last week, 32 officers were shot and killed in the line of duty, according to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, a nonprofit group that tracks these deaths. More than half of the officers fatally shot died in ambushes, the group said in a report released Thursday.

On average, about 25 officers have been shot and killed by the midyear point over the past decade, FBI data show. And since 2005, the FBI figures show that about 20 percent of fatal shootings of police have been ambushes.

http://www.startribune.com/number-of-law-enforcement-officers-fatally-shot-this-year-is-up-significantly-report-says/388488871/