When five police officers were killed and nine more wounded in an attack during a protest march in Dallas last week, it rattled the nation.
Since then, law enforcement officers from Georgia to Michigan have been shot in incidents that drew far less attention but have added to the growing sense that it’s a dangerous time to be a cop.
With the Dallas shootings, 26 police officers have died in the line of duty so far this year, compared to 18 officers who had died at this point in 2015, according the statistics from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Nick Breul, director of research for the memorial fund and a former Washington, D.C., police officer, said that there have also been a number of surprise attacks targeting and killing police officers.
“As we see increases, it becomes very concerning, particularly when you see increases in the cases of the nature of Dallas,” Breul said.
“Certainly there is a climate now — and the Dallas case indicates that there is a climate now — that certainly should have police on guard,” he added.