Thanks for reading and for giving me an idea for my next piece!

You might be interested in the work of Alex S. Vitale (http://www.alex-vitale.info/) who's studied, researched, and written about policing for many years. Vitale sums up statistics about how police spend their time as follows: patrol officers spend "about 17 percent responding to crime-related calls — the vast majority of which are misdemeanors."

Cops may "say" they are most likely to be shot when responding to domestic disturbances, but that is not what statistics say. Most abusers retreat when anyone else intrudes on their private torture of a loved one. As a former trial attorney, I can testify that cops "say" a lot of things. In the past 20 years or so, they've created a myth that they are under attack, that all us citizens are also under attack, and that only police can save us. It's bullshit.

But lets look at the statistics. First of all, cops KILL about ten times as many citizens as the police fatalities recorded in any given year. In 2019, 88 cops died in the line of duty. Clearly, that number should be zero in an ideal world (or one where there are no guns), but almost half of those 88 police fatalities were accidents.

Forty-eight (48) officers were feloniously killed. Of those 48, ONE had responded to a domestic violence situation.

By the way, these statistics come from the FBI. https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2019-statistics-on-law-enforcement-officers-killed-in-the-line-of-duty

Domestic violence calls are best handled by negotiators/mediators/social workers who are trained in this specific situation.

What about armed robberies? Well, they are rare. I have a cousin serving his 3rd federal prison term for bank robbery. Unlike the movies you see, most bank robbers, like my cousin, enter a bank wearing a mask or hoodie or hat, walk up to a teller, claim they have a gun, and get a few thousand from the teller's drawer. That's because banks train their staff to cooperate with robbers to avoid injury and death. Many bank robbers who claim to have a gun aren't carrying. but better safe than sorry, huh?

I should note that because the FDIC insures bank deposits, all bank robberies are federal crimes under FBI jurisdiction.

Hostage situations? Also rare, but 3 of 2019's 48 felonious line-of-duty officer deaths involved hostage/barricade events. Again, probably a job for the FBI. Or trained negotiators who aren't likely to blast their way into a barricaded home.

Organized crime? Most (maybe all) organized crime members are involved in multi-state or international dealings. Maybe that's why of the 48 deaths in 2019, none are characterized as related to organized crime. Again, FBI jurisdiction.

Finally, while some gangs might oppress POC communities, it sure seems like community police are the primary gang involved in beating, raping, kidnapping, extorting, and killing people of color. Stay tuned for some statistics on that one!