As the anti-Donald Trump rioting continues on, paid protesters are increasingly attacking law enforcement. They throw rocks, bottles, fireworks, M-80s, Molotov cocktails and other objects at the police. They smash the windows of patrol cars and slash the tires. Officers around the country have been injured.

In Austin, anti-Trump protesters were caught on video chanting support for cop killings. They shouted, “What’s better than one dead cop? Two dead cops!” They repeated the phrase, increasing the numbers until they reached 15, “What’s better than 14 dead cops? Fifteen dead cops!”

Law enforcement officials say there has been an alarming spike in ambush-style attacks. In the first six months of 2016, 14 officers have been shot in ambush-style attacks, and shooting deaths of police officers increased by 78 percent over the same period last year. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, one-third of police officers shot to death on the job this year were purposely targeted by their assailant.

Some of the protesters are going so far as to block the police from arresting others, essentially creating anarchy.

“It’s a war on cops,” declared William Johnson, the executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations. “The Obama administration is the Neville Chamberlain of this war,” he said in an interview with Fox News.

Activist Hostility

Some of the violence has been created by activist groups, who either encourage it by their language or participate in it in the actions.

Black Lives Matter activists stirred up a lot of the recent hatred against law enforcement, chanting phrases during demonstrations such as, “What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want it? Now!” The organization is spreading the message that it is acceptable to use violence against law enforcement as revenge for black suspects who are shot — despite the fact that law enforcement has generally been exonerated afterward.

The father of Dallas cop Patrick Zamarripa, who was shot dead by a sniper in July, is suing Black Lives Matter for inciting the violence. The killer was participating in a Black Lives Matter rally against police brutality, and opened fire on the police, killing five officers, including Zamarripa. In his lawsuit, the senior Zamarripa described the movement as “a violent and revolutionary criminal gang.”

Other factions on the left are also targeting the police. Activists protesting the Dakota Access pipeline slashed the tires of patrol cars this past month and threw burning logs and rocks from slingshots at officers, hitting one on the head.

Some of the protesters are going so far as to block the police from arresting others, essentially creating anarchy. In downtown Austin, they were caught on video surrounding the police and trying to free the rioters being arrested.

Recent Spate of Cop Killings

Here are some of the stories of policemen recently shot in the line of duty.

Boston officers Richard Cintolo and Matt Morris responded to reports of a domestic altercation. When they arrived, Kirk Figueroa opened fire, putting both of them into critical care. His roommate told a news station later that Figueroa wanted to “revolutionize policing” by dying in a shootout with police. He had prepared by putting on a ballistic vest. Reinforcements arrived and killed him.

Wayne State University police officer Colin Rose was shot in the head last week while on patrol and later died in the hospital. He had radioed in that he was investigating some thefts and about to talk to someone on a bike. When other officers arrived, they found him lying on the ground, shot.

Palm Springs officers Jose “Gil” Vega, who was retiring next month, and Lesley Zerebny, who had recently returned from maternity leave, were killed when John Felix fired through the door of his home. They had responded to a report of a domestic disturbance. They had been warned that he wanted to “kill cops” and still tried to deescalate  the situation. One other office was wounded.

Some among the violent cop-haters want to provoke more fatal confrontations, because they can use them to portray police as dangerous and hostile to minorities.

Last Sunday, November 20, four officers around the country were shot and one was killed. San Antonio officer Benjamin Marconi was writing a traffic ticket outside of police headquarters when a motorist pulled up and fatally shot him twice in the head. The other three shootings were an ambush attack, a drive-by assassination attempt, and a shootout with police.

The police have been responding to the violence with tear gas and rubber bullets. Chuck Canterbury, national President of the Fraternal Order of Police, said “Less-than-lethal methods need to be improved every day. Police officers would like that. Police in Chicago, for example, “have been asking for Taser training for almost eight years.”

The Agenda

The gun control movement wants to eliminate guns, including guns used by law enforcement. Consequently, I believe, some among the violent cop-haters want to provoke more fatal confrontations, because they can use them to portray police as dangerous and hostile to minorities.

They want to weaken the police because they want to tear down the existing justice system. They claim that it’s an oppressive system designed to keep black people, the poor and other minorities under control. They falsely assert that the system wrongly arrests and locks up too many offenders, especially black men.

Society needs to counteract the message of the cop haters and uplift the reputation of law enforcement. As Canterbury says, “Nobody goes to work, pins on a badge or a star and wants to end somebody else’s life.” People who have dedicated their lives to protecting others are being treated as if they were killers in an attempt to reduce their ability to protect us.

See The Stream’s series “Why I Serve,” featuring officers from around the nation sharing their stories:
“Why I Serve: Retired Sgt. Randy Brashears of Baltimore County, MD Police Department”

“Why I Serve: Cpl. Jimmy Stone, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office”