The good folks over at the Center for American Progress (CAP) have an useful fact sheet about guns and policing:
Among the facts presented:
Firearms are by far the most common method used to kill police officers in the United States
- From 2012 to 2021, 504 police officers were killed in the United States. Out of those, 456 officers were fatally shot with a gun—meaning that 90 percent of these homicides were perpetrated with a gun.
- From 2020 to 2021, the number of police officers fatally shot rose 35 percent.
Police officers in the United States are far more likely to be fatally shot than those in other developed nations
- From 2012 to 2021, 456 police officers were fatally shot in the United States.
- During that same period:
- Twelve police officers were fatally shot in Canada.
- Four police officers were fatally shot in the United Kingdom.
- Three police officers were fatally shot in Australia.
Police officers in the United States are more likely to be fatally shot in states with higher levels of gun ownership and weaker gun laws
- A 2016 study concluded that police officers were three times more likely to be fatally shot in the states with the highest levels of gun ownership than in the states with the lowest levels of gun ownership.
- The Giffords Law Center graded states based on the strength of their gun laws. States that received an “F” saw higher rates of police officers fatally shot from 2017 to 2021.
- States with “F” grades had a rate of police officers fatally shot that was 75 percent higher than states with “C’s” or “D’s.”
- States with “F” grades saw a rate of police officers fatally shot that was 152 percent higher than states with “A’s” or “B’s”—those with the strongest gun laws.
Elected officials have passed dangerous gun laws despite opposition from law enforcement groups and individuals
- In 2021, Texas passed permitless carry, a law that allows anyone to carry a firearm in public without a license, background check, or training. However, police agency groups and individuals opposed this bill.
- The Texas Police Chiefs Association said the bill posed a threat to all law enforcement agencies and the public in general.
- Similarly, police chiefs, sheriffs, and prosecutors in Tennessee opposed the bill that allows for permitless carry in their state. Nevertheless, consersative legislators still voted in favor of this law, and it has since taken effect.
- Law enforcement agencies and groups in Alabama, Ohio, and Iowa have also opposed permitless carry measures. Unfortunately, conservative legislators have ignored these concerns.
- In 2022, elected officials in the Ohio state Senate passed a bill to arm teachers despite strong opposition from law enforcement officers and teachers.
You can read the rest here.