A research study shows that at least 61 law enforcement officers in the United States have been shot and killed on duty so far this year, underscoring growing anti-police sentiment across the country over police violence against civilians.
The fatality rate was published by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund on Friday, showing a 48 percent increase in comparison with 2015, when firearms were linked to 41 police deaths across the US.
Last weekend, four officers were targeted while conducting routine traffic stops in three US states of Texas, Florida and Missouri.
Earlier this month, two police officers were fatally shot in ambush-style attacks in Iowa.
Earlier this year, five officers in Dallas, Texas, and three officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were fatally shot after police killed two black men in separate incidents.
The latest attacks against police happened at a time when anti-police sentiment is high across the US due to a surge of…