On the recordMay 10, 2021
today I want to discuss an unfortunate trend that has grown over the last year. Since March of 2020, the United States has been battling COVID-19. We have lost over half a million Americans because of the virus. But I am talking about another tragedy today, and that is the tragedy that I call ``war on the cops.'' Two months after the pandemic hit and sparked by the death of George Floyd, cities all across the country broke out into violent riots. Much of that violence has been directed at law enforcement, and it has taken a very serious toll. During the 2020 riots, more than 900 law enforcement officers were injured, including 277 officer injuries while defending the Federal courthouse in Portland and 60 Secret Service officers defending the White House. In September, a gunman ambushed two Los Angeles sheriff police deputies as they sat in their squad car. In January 2020, a violent mob attacked police defending the Capitol. Just last month, a young man killed a Capitol Police officer performing his duties. Police across the country are suffering from demoralization and fatigue. By the end of last summer, police officers were quitting the force in large numbers. Last August, 49 officers retired from the Portland Police Bureau in Oregon. That is more than it lost in all of 2019. By the end of last summer, 140 officers had quit the Atlanta Police Department by that point in the year. That number had been only 80 in the previous year.…
Source
govinfo.gov




