In Bristol, Connecticut this week, two police officers were murdered and a third was wounded by gunfire in what was clearly an ambush after a phony 911 call was received. Thankfully, the wounded police officer, rather than retreating, returned fire and killed the attacker, saving the public the bother of a trial. This would obviously be grim news under any circumstances, but the attack does not appear to be just some random, one-off act by a maniac. Police are being attacked around the United States, often fatally, in numbers that haven’t been seen in many years. According to a report this week from the Associated Press, the number of American police officers being killed in the line of duty is rising at rates that almost certainly can’t be coincidental. Police deaths of this type in 2022 are already up by 14% over last year and by a staggering 45% over the same period in 2020, when riots and violence were filling the streets all through the summer. A deadly and disturbing pattern seems to be emerging, just as police officers have been quitting or taking early retirement in droves.

According to organizations that track violence against police, 56 officers have been killed by gunfire this year — 14% more than this time last year and about 45% ahead of 2020′s pace. The country is on track for the deadliest year since 67 officers were killed in 2016.

While the figures include a few officers killed by accidental gunfire, the number of ambushes in which police were injured or killed in surprise attacks with little chance to defend themselves has soared since 2020 and accounts for nearly half the officers killed this year.

Such an attack apparently struck Wednesday in Bristol, Connecticut, where the state police said Bristol Police Sgt. Dustin Demonte and Officer Alex Hamzy were killed and Officer Alec Iurato was wounded when they responded to a 911 call that appears to have been “a deliberate act to lure law enforcement to the scene.”

The attacks in Connecticut capped off a dangerous and frequently deadly week for the nation’s law enforcement forces. Eleven officers were shot in just the past week, including two others who were killed in Las Vegas and Mississippi.

Nobody is suggesting that this is some sort of murderous scheme that’s been plotted out at the national level and was centrally organized. But the pattern that’s been emerging is impossible to ignore. So what is driving this homicidal tide against the thin blue line? We simply can’t ignore the societal shift that has taken place in certain segments of American society.

Politicians who continually blame the police for society’s ills and describe them as unrepentant racists and corrupt actors have obviously fed into this toxic mix. Criminal justice “reform” efforts that place more value on the lives of criminals than victims clearly seem to have emboldened the bad actors in society. When cable news talking heads spend all of their time bellowing about how “evil” or “dangerous” the police are, some of those who are receptive to such a message will inevitably act upon it. And this applies to all aspects of governance. Look no further than the demonization of the conservative Supreme Court justices which was kept at a fever pitch for weeks until someone with a gun showed up at Brett Kavanaugh’s house hoping to assassinate him.

So what, if anything, can be done about it? First of all, we should keep in mind that when you lower the cost of breaking any laws, you get more of that sort of crime. (Look no further than the years of massive looting in California following the state’s decriminalization efforts.) The same applies to the murder of law enforcement officers.

One idea that dates back to the Reagan era is long overdue. Intentionally murdering a law enforcement officer should immediately be classified as a federal crime carrying the potential of the death penalty. Kill a cop, go to death row. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. That will get the attention of anyone considering such an evil scheme as we saw in Connecticut.

But one new law on the books will never be enough. As with so many other toxic trends that have been breaking down the fabric of civilization in America, a complete shift in societal attitudes is required, and the mainstream media needs to lead the way. It’s not enough for cable news anchors to put on a sad face and say that the death of more police officers is “tragic.” They need to be denouncing those who seek to undermine our system of law and praise those who are willing to literally put their lives on the line every day to keep the streets safe for decent people to go about their business unmolested.

If you want to know what a “world without cops” looks like, just turn on your television or step outside if you live in one of our larger cities. You’re already getting a taste of it. Police retention remains in the dumps and recruiting qualified replacements continues to be more and more difficult. And a country without law enforcement is only a few steps away from Mad Max territory. That’s what the criminals want. And the politicians fomenting this madness don’t have to be concerned because they all have armed security squads (even as many of them work to disarm you). Are you willing to settle for that? You shouldn’t be. And if you are represented by any elected officials who feel that way, you need to replace them immediately.