Police ‘Ambush’ Killings On The Rise
With 56 police killed by gunfire this year, 2022 is on track to be the deadliest for police officers on the job since 2016.
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With 56 police killed by gunfire this year, 2022 is on track to be the deadliest for police officers on the job since 2016, Gene Johnson reports for the Associated Press. While overall gun death numbers for officers include accidents and other incidents, the Press reports that “ambush” shootings, during which police officers were injured or killed taken by surprise, have continued to increase since 2020 and account for just under half of all police gun deaths in 2022.
Three Connecticut officers were shot in an incident that appears to fit that mold last Wednesday, where two, Bristol Police Sgt. Dustin Demonte and Officer Alex Hamzy, were killed and another officer wounded while responding to a 911 call. While the officers were speaking with one family member at the door, the shooter, Nicholas Brutcher, shot at least 80 rounds at the trio from behind, CBS reports.
The surviving police officer shot and killed Brutcher from a police vehicle after retreating. While further details have not been released beyond an initial use-of-force investigation, police initially stated that the 911 call appeared to be made intentionally to lure police to the scene.
