There has been an 18 percent increase in the number of police officers killed in the line of duty since this time last year, with New York City having the most deaths.
There have been 67 police fatalities this year, NPR reported. Seven of the 67 have been police officers from New York City, and over a third have died from a gunshot wound.
"New York is right now at the top of the list in terms of states that have suffered line-of-duty deaths," said Nick Bruel, safety director for the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.
Deaths of on-duty police officers have been declining since the 1970s, but the current threats against police officers have Pat Lynch, the head of New York's Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, concerned.
"When you see someone that's making threats doing something against police officers, you need to let us know, you need to be our eyes and ears," Lynch said.
Miosotis Familia, a 12-year police veteran and mother of three, was fatally shot in the head Wednesday while on duty.
More casualties came last year, when five police officers were killed in an ambush in Dallas, Texas during a protest. In Baton Rouge, La., two officers and a sheriff's deputy were killed, while two Iowa policemen died in separate ambush attacks.