FBI: 118 police officers killed on the job in 2016

The FBI on Monday said 118 police officers were killed on the job in 2016, an increase from 86 in 2015.

The bureau’s annual report found that 66 of the deaths were criminal, while 52 were accidental. Both numbers represented a jump from 2015, when 41 criminal and 45 accidental deaths were reported.

{mosads}The Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report also found that 57,180 police officers were assaulted on the job in 2016, a jump from the 50,212 assaults reported in 2015. 

The FBI said the report’s data is used to help law enforcement officers with safety training.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a Monday statement about the report said the Justice Department will continue to focus on fighting violent crime.

“Every law enforcement officer goes to work knowing that today might be his or her last. But last year, we saw a staggering 61 percent increase in the number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty because of a felony, and on average, more than 150 officers were assaulted in the line of duty every single day. These numbers are as shocking as they are unacceptable,” Sessions said.

“Our law enforcement deserves the support of the people they serve. Fortunately we have a President who understands this. President Trump ran for office as a law-and-order candidate; now he is governing as a law-and-order President.”

–This report was updated at 2:17 p.m.