The number of law enforcement officers “feloniously” killed in 2014 jumped 89% over the past year, according to new FBI statistics that come just a week after the fatal shootings of an officer in New York City and two officers in Hattiesburg, Miss., the FBI reported.
The FBI recorded 51 felonious killings, compared to 27 in 2013. The average number of annual felonious killings between between 1980 and 2014 was 64.
Of the 51 killings, 46 involved firearms.
Police departments lost another 44 officers in the line of duty to accidental causes, such as car accidents and smoke inhalation. In 2o13, 49 officers were killed.