By Joanna Putman
Police1
NEW YORK — Attacks on NYPD officers surged during 2023, the New York Post reported.
Data from the last quarter of the year has not been released yet, but NYPD statistics estimate there were at least 5,436 incidents of cops being injured by suspects, according to the report.
“Well over 5,000 cops were attacked and injured last year – that’s not only a record, it’s a full-blown epidemic,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry told The New York Post.
The number is up from 4,724 officers injured by suspects in 2022, and 3,933 in 2021, according to the report. Injuries categorized as either substantial or serious have also spiked. There were 261 such injuries in January through September of 2023, and the NYPD is predicting the total will be at least 348.
In 2022, there were 315 incidents of serious or substantial officer injuries caused by suspects, according to the report. In 2021, there were 295 incidents.
“It’s not going to get better until those who attack police officers are consistently prosecuted and kept in jail,” Hendry said. “And that won’t happen unless New Yorkers keep speaking up to demand an end to the chaos.”
