The media is free to keep assuring you that there’s “nothing unusual” going on around the country and that crime levels continue to fall, but we’re still losing law enforcement officers in the line of duty at an increasing rate. Two stories came out this weekend which are both tragic and disturbing in their implications. The first, and most brutal, took place in the Washington, DC suburb of Cheverly, Maryland. Officer Jacai Colson was gunned down outside his police precinct in a cowardly ambush attack and later died of his wounds. (Yahoo News)

Police were going about their business on a Sunday afternoon when a gunman fired at the first officer he saw outside a Maryland police station, prompting a gun battle that left an undercover narcotics officer dying and the suspect wounded, authorities say.

Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski said Jacai Colson, a four-year veteran of the department only days shy of his 29th birthday, died after the “unprovoked attack” outside the station. The shooting erupted in Landover, a suburb about 10 miles northeast of downtown Washington, D.C.

Speaking at a news conference, Stawinski said that once the first shot was fired, several officers fired back at the suspect. He couldn’t say how many shots were exchanged in the confrontation that began about 4:30 p.m.

There’s little to say which hasn’t already been expressed by local and state officials. This was nothing but a cold blooded ambush directly outside of a police station. The shooter was wounded but is expected to survive and a possible accomplice is also in custody.

Another shooting took place in Chester, PA, though thankfully none of the officers involved were killed. Cops pulled over a stolen car and the occupants of the vehicle turned out to be armed and ready to fight it out.

“The persons within the vehicle were uncooperative with police. Then there was an exchange of gunfire,” said Chester Police Chief James Nolan. “To our understanding, someone in the car began shooting at police. Police returned fire.”

When it was over, one suspect was dead, another was critically wounded, and a Chester Police captain lay injured.

The officer, identified as Capt. Alan Davis, a 25-year veteran of the Chester Police Department, was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

This shooting quickly turned into yet another community event with crowds gathering to protest. Of course, they weren’t worried about the police officer who was shot, but for the people in the stolen car who decided to get in a gunfight with the cops.

This marks the 20th officer killed in the line of duty this year according to the Officer Down Memorial page, and it’s only the middle of March. According to FBI statistics, there were a total of 27 officers killed i action in 2013, one of the lowest totals in quite some time, but they have been on the rise since then. Given the lack of support which law enforcement receives in too many large cities it’s amazing we are still able to replenish their ranks.