(Memphis) Eleven officers have been shot and two killed here in Memphis in the last two years.
That number is representative of the entire state of Tennessee where shootings against officers are up.
A study released by the TBI shows the number of officers shot or assaulted increased three percent last year.
In 2011 1826 Tennessee law enforcement officers were killed or injured and in 2012 that number jumped up to 1883 reports.
Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong says officers are facing pressure and hostility in the streets.
“It’s troubling to know that there are that many individuals who would bracingly attack a police officer, especially an officer that is clearly in uniform and identifiable as being a law enforcement officer,” said Armstrong.
At the end of 2012 the murder of Officer Martoiya Lang rocked the Memphis police department and agencies across the nation. She was just doing her job, executing a search warrant, when she was gun downed.
Officer Timothy warrant was killed in cold blood at the Double Tree Hotel downtown.
“Our officers are encountering more suspects that are armed and more suspects that are willing to attack officers. So that is a big concern and it should be a big concern to our citizens as well,” said Armstrong.
Officers know this and aren’t taking any chances when their life is in question.
In the past four months five people have been shot by Memphis police.
The TBI says there is no way to gauge if suspect shootings by police are up across the state, but they are working on a system to do that.