Dramatic spike in U.S. law enforcement officers killed in 2014: FBI

Fifty-one U.S. law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2014 according to the FBI, an increase of 89 per cent over the previous year.

Some of those deaths include the point-blank shooting of two NYPD officers in December. Wenjian Liu, 32, and Rafael Ramos, 40, were sitting in their patrol car when 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley is alleged to have walked up to the car and shot both officers. He killed himself in a nearby subway station shortly after the shooting.

The shooting was allegedly in retaliation for the death of Eric Garner who died after being put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer.

The publication of the number comes during a national debate on police violence in the United States stoked by the deaths of police officers as well as civilians interacting with police including Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, and Garner.

While the 2014 number is markedly higher than 2013, the 27 officers killed that year was the lowest number since 1980, and the 51 officers killed in 2014 was still below the 35-year average of 64.

Eight of the 51 officers killed were as a result of premeditated attacks or ambushes.

Forty-six of the 51 killings involved firearms but only five included the officers’ weapon, with one police officer being killed with their own weapon. Four of the officers were killed with vehicles and one was killed with the offenders’ “personal weapons” according to the FBI. Thirty-five of the officers were wearing body armour at the time of their death.

Two Mississippi officers were killed over the weekend during a routine traffic stop. Police have arrested three people so far, including Marvin Banks, 29, and Joanie Calloway, 22 who were charged with murder and Curtis Banks, 26, who was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of murder.