It is a reality all officers understand. And every police officer hopes they never become a statistic. But the unfortunate truth is that police officers do get shot, and sometimes they die.
So far in 2024, law enforcement is on a pace to set the record for police officers getting shot, according to the National Fraternal Order of Police.
No one knows this more than Michael Letts.
Michael Letts is the CEO, founder, and President of InVest USA, a nonprofit organization that has been around for three decades. His organization provides vests to LEOs and first responders at no cost to them.
Michael is also an LEO advocate, supporter, and subject matter expert, and officer safety is a topic that is near and dear to him.
“People in America are not safe, they feel the effect of violent crimes, and the law enforcement community feels it,” Michael told LET in an exclusive interview.
Another problem facing the law enforcement community is the legal risk they take when they get involved in a shooting with a suspect, particularly in a democratic-run area.
Police officers are becoming more apprehensive when it comes to firing their weapons. They fear the legal repercussions and consequences regardless of the circumstances of the shooting.
“This particular government called the Biden administration, backs the idea that mainstream media has adopted – cops are automatically guilty until proven innocent. Something goes wrong, ‘It had to be his [the cop's] fault. He used excessive force, he shouldn't have fired first’, et cetera, et cetera,” Michael said of prosecutors' willingness to go after officers.
When an officer is charged with a crime, regardless of how much evidence supports them, their lives are turned upside down. They must get an attorney, are suspended, and have difficulty finding employment with that dark cloud looming over them. That is an enormous burden to carry.
It is no surprise why officers would be apprehensive about returning fire during a shootout.
“And so you're beginning to see that normal officers, because of the way they’re being treated, just don't want to be involved in the process,” Michael said.
He continued, “And that comes into the general public's perception as well. When the mainstream media presents that law enforcement officers are bad, which is what they're doing, when they say you're automatically guilty until innocent, then the general society and especially the criminal society say, ‘Look, I'm actually doing a society a favor by taking out a cop’. So of course you're going to see the numbers continue to escalate and go higher.”
Relief in Sight?
Last month, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), along with several senators introduced the Protect and Serve Act, legislation that would make it a federal crime to knowingly cause or attempt to cause bodily injury to a law enforcement officer.
“Those who commit senseless acts of violence against law enforcement officers must be held accountable for their actions, which is why I am proud to reintroduce this legislation that creates federal penalties for criminals who target law enforcement. They put their lives on the line to protect us, and we should do the work in Congress to protect them,” Senator Tillis said on his website.
We hope this will reduce the number of shootings against police, but that remains to be seen. If there is one thing all officers understand, it is criminals don’t often consider the consequences of their actions at the moment of a crime.
But there is hope. We hope to see that 2024 is not going to break the previous record set only last year.
The law enforcement community deserves it.
