NEW YORK — The NYPD recorded an alarming 4,600 injuries to officers at the hands of violent suspects in the first nine months of 2024, marking the highest total since the department began tracking such data in 2016, the New York Post reported.
This figure represents a 13% increase from the 4,077 officer injuries reported during the same period in 2023 and a 60% rise from the 2,886 injuries logged in 2021, according to the report.
Between April and June, 1,640 officers were injured, the most ever recorded in a single quarter. The subsequent three months saw an additional 1,618 injuries, the second-highest quarterly figure. While most injuries (4,285) were classified as minor, 192 required hospital treatment and 123 were severe enough to warrant hospital admission, according to the report.
“Far too many routine calls are turning into all-out brawls and the reason is obvious: our justice system keeps releasing the same violent, repeat offenders, and they keep attacking cops when we try to lock them up again,” Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry stated.
The 46th Precinct in the Bronx emerged as the most dangerous command, with 51 officer injuries recorded between August and September, according to the report. Statistics also revealed a 29% increase in subject injuries during interactions with police, with 4,515 reported in the first nine months of 2024 compared to 3,497 during the same period in 2023.
“The de-carceral approach taken by both district attorneys and judges toward perpetrators who assault police officers is the main driver behind this ever-increasing rise in assaults … the public sees no one is going to jail for it, so it’s ‘I can do what I want,’” said NYPD Lt. John Macari. “Shoplifters, drug dealers, protestors and migrants have no fear of putting their hands on anyone – including the police.”
