Little Rock FBI agents hosted state and local law enforcement leaders yesterday from across the state to discuss violent crime and violence against officers, KFSM reports:
“In the incidence of homicides, in our major metropolitan areas, in some instances, it’s higher than the city of Chicago, the number of homicides in the state is certainly disturbing,” said Special Agent James Dawson.
The meeting included members of the FBI and DEA; the Arkansas State Police; and leaders from seven city police departments. It comes in the wake of a horrific scene last Sunday, when a Fort Smith police officer had his throat slashed while responding to a domestic disturbance call. He was hospitalized and is now home recovering.
The D-G’s report includes a roundup of the data presented at the meeting, which Dawson said showed that Arkansas has seen a “disproportionately high” rate of violent crime against police:
Discussion centered on preliminary data from the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted program, which tracks yearly deaths and injuries — accidental and criminal — across the country.
As of Oct. 1, the program has logged 54 criminal killings of officers, passing the 41 felonious deaths reported by this time last year as well as 2020’s total of 46, according to the data released.
According to the data, the South region, which includes Arkansas and 15 other states, has accounted for 30 of the 54 criminal killings of police officers, as well as 18 of the 42 accidental deaths of officers. The 13-state West region has accounted for 12 criminal killings of officers, and the 12-state Midwest region has seen eight so far this year. The Northeast region has not had a criminal killing of an officer this year, according to the FBI data.