The left’s demonization of police not only has endangered public safety by fueling crime waves nationwide, but it has ignited a record number of shootings targeting cops.

Twenty-three Law Enforcement officers have been killed so far this year and 106 have been wounded in shootings, according to the National Fraternal Order of Police.

Moreover, an alarming 29 cops have been shot in 22 ambush attacks since January, the group said.

“With 106 Officers Shot so far this year, on pace to surpass last year’s historic numbers,” the FOP tweeted. “Since Monday, the start of National #PoliceWeek, we’ve seen 6 officers shot, 4 of whom were gunned down by violent criminals.”

While Black Lives Matter activists protest and riot almost every time a criminal gets shot by police while resisting arrest, they have zero sympathy for the scores of cops who are murdered in the line of duty every year.

The National Fraternal Order of Police blamed the race-baiting, anti-police rhetoric “coming from the White House, left-wing media and politicians” for the escalating attacks on cops.

Patrick Yoes, the president of the FOP, said the left’s irresponsible demonization of police is jeopardizing public safety by making cops walking targets for violent criminals.

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After all, if the police can’t keep themselves safe because they’re increasingly being targeted, how can they possibly keep the public safe?

“The demonization of police has made communities and Law Enforcement jobs less safe,” Yoes said in a statement to Fox News on Thursday.

“We are seeing the consequences of such divisive rhetoric with violence targeting police officers on the rise.”

He said the anti-police rhetoric of Democratic politicians and the establishment media has stoked an unprecedented surge in brutal ambush attacks on cops.

“Our Law Enforcement officers are increasingly under fire by individuals motivated by nothing more than a desire to kill or injure a cop,” Yoes said. “Law Enforcement officers, who serve their communities and put their lives on the line for fellow citizens, should not be hunted and targeted just because of the uniform that they wear.”

Jason Johnson, the former deputy police commissioner of Baltimore, said violent crimes have surged because police have retreated amid nonstop left-wing vilification.

“From Los Angeles and Houston to New Orleans and Minneapolis, the political response to the unrest lead to de-policing and the resulting record violence,” he wrote in a USA Today Op-Ed last month.

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“These past few bloody months should teach us that when the Thin Blue Line retreats, violence charges in.”

Johnson said the left’s nonstop demonization of police and its reckless championing of the false, race-baiting narratives pushed by Black Lives Matter and Democratic politicians have touched off a tsunami of retirements and resignations.

Moreover, he said, the officers who remain in their jobs don’t want to chase after criminal suspects because they might be fired, sued, murdered or smeared as racist simply for doing their jobs.

Following the anti-cop protests ignited by the May 2020 death of George Floyd, violent crimes have mushroomed to catastrophic levels nationwide.

“Since June 2020, local leaders and activists’ increasing attacks demoralized, debilitated and in some cases, defunded Law Enforcement. As police stepped back, violence surged,” a report by the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund said.

Predictably, Democrat-run cities (many of which slashed police budgets) have experienced the biggest crime explosions.

“Urban areas are hardest hit by growing bloodshed with 35% rise in homicide across America’s largest 60 cities,” the report noted.

Ultimately, this means you and your family are now less safe because you can’t depend on Law Enforcement to protect you when they’re busy fending off random attacks and must submit to inane red tape before being allowed to arrest anyone.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.