# disaster
Seventy-three police officers were intentionally killed in the line of duty in 2021 -- an increase of nearly 59 percent from 2020, when 46 officers were murdered, citing the FBI's database of officers killed in action.
"We believe it was a combination of George Floyd protests -- riots, if you will; A general feeling toward less enforcement; Fewer prosecutions and less policing, "Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund and a 20-year police veteran, told Fox News.
"Law enforcement officers have essentially been marginalized and demoralized, abandoned and now encouraged to enforce the law. As a result, we've seen a huge increase in homicide rates in cities across the United States, "he said.
Johnson noted that it is "natural" that the rising homicide rate in the United States "has also led to more attacks on officials because... Many leaders in these cities, leaders in Congress and leaders in the White House did express a lack of respect for law enforcement officers."