LOS ANGELES : Violent Attacks on Police Officers at 3-Year High
The number of violent attacks against Los Angeles Police Department officers reached a three-year high in 1992, with about one in seven officers being assaulted.
The LAPD recently reviewed the numbers of officer-involved shootings for the last four years versus the frequency of attacks against police. The increasing number of officer-involved shootings coincides with a rising tide of assaults against police officers, said Cmdr. David Gascon of the LAPD’s communications division.
In 1992, officers shot 77 suspects, compared to 61 the year before. But, Gascon said, more officers were assaulted last year--a total of 1,162 times. Gascon said 264 of the officers were attacked by suspects with guns and another 132 by people with knives.
In 1991, 1,056 officers were assaulted, but only 150 of the attacks involved firearms, and just 22 officers were targets of knife-wielding suspects, according to LAPD statistics.
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