A sheriff’s deputy in Central California was shot and injured after someone opened fire on a police station on Wednesday, authorities said.
The shooting comes following a wave of anti-police sentiment following peaceful protests, riots, acts of arson, and vandalism in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis while he was under police custody. The incident also sparked calls to “defund the police” or abolish police offices in general, which was shot down by Republican and Democratic officials, although some city council members in Minneapolis and Seattle have expressed a willingness to dismantle police departments.
The anti-police sentiment has also drawn rebuke from police unions, including the NYPD union. Pat Lynch, president of the largest of the unions, the Police Benevolent Association in New York City, said that his officers have been abused and attacked, while adding that bail reform laws have made it difficult to prosecute criminals.
Lynch noted that in the past week, 40 people were shot across the city, noting that there were seven people shot in the span of about 10 minutes in Brooklyn on Monday.
“Everybody’s trying to shame us into being embarrassed about our profession,” added Mike O’Meara, the head of the New York State Association of PBAs. “Stop treating us like animals and thugs and start treating us with some respect.”
