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One in Five Law Enforcement Officers Slain in the Line of Duty Felled by an Assault Weapon
Washington, DC–As National Police Week begins in Washington, DC, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released new research showing that in 2014, the most recent year for which information is available, one in five law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty were killed with an assault weapon. In addition, in half of the assault weapon incidents, a bullet penetrated the officer’s body armor. As seen in the graphic below, 47 officers were slain in the line of duty in the United States in 2014. Ten were killed with assault weapons. In five of those incidents the bullet penetrated the officer’s body armor. The VPC analyzed unpublished data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) along with data published in the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2014.
“This new data demonstrates the special risk that assault weapons pose to officer safety,” states VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand, adding, “Effective assault weapons bans can decrease this risk and save the lives of first responders.”
http://www.vpc.org/press/new-data-shows-one-in-five-law-enforcement-officers-slain-in-the-line-of-duty-felled-by-an-assault-weapon/
“This new data demonstrates the special risk that assault weapons pose to officer safety,” states VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand, adding, “Effective assault weapons bans can decrease this risk and save the lives of first responders.”
http://www.vpc.org/press/new-data-shows-one-in-five-law-enforcement-officers-slain-in-the-line-of-duty-felled-by-an-assault-weapon/
"But, but they are NOT assault weapons," cry the NRA puppets and Second Amendment absolutists. "They are used for benign purposes and never used for violence," is the go-to talking point of the ALEC/ILA "guns are good" propagandists.
The anticipated response from the gun worshipers is that ONLY 10 cops were killed, and that is an insignificant number when weighed against the "right to bear arms." 10 cops here, 50 LGBT people there, 20 school kids, and all of the others killed and their families, friends, and neighbors, and the numbers are no longer "insignificant."
Support the brave Democrats who are standing up to the right-wing gun lobby and the NRA at all levels of our government, and especially those who are making their voices heard in Congress. Vote to put an end to the gun madness in this country. Vote for real Democrats.
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