Justice
The Spike of Cop Killings in 2011 Was Thankfully Just a Spike
Despite concerns over an uptick, both felonious and accidental killings of police officers fell substantially in 2012.
Last year, when the FBI released its annual report on the number of domestic police officers killed by perpetrators in the line of duty, The New York Times declared the emergence of a "disturbing trend." While 56 officers had been intentionally killed in 2010, 72 were killed in 2011. This was an even more troubling increase over 2008, a 10-year low in which only 41 officers were killed.
But if it was truly a troubling trend, the numbers would need to keep going up. Luckily, they haven't. Forty-eight police officers were killed in 2012, according to Monday's annual FBI report on law enforcement deaths. How does 48 stack up? In the last 13 years, only 2008 and 1999 saw fewer intentional law enforcement deaths.