San Jose police officers union calls attention to rise in police killings with video

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The San Jose Police Union rolled out an online video, titled "When Did Shooting at Cops Become OK?," which it hopes will spark attention to the sharp increase in recent killings of officers.

The minute long online video asks "where is the outrage when a cop is targeted for murder?"

Police union president Paul Kelly unveiled the web ad next to a mock Thanksgiving table dressed with the pictures of law enforcement officers who were killed recently in the line of duty.

"These heroes will not be with their family tomorrow celebrating Thanksgiving," said Paul Kelly, SJPOA president.

The police union video says so far this year, 56 officers have been killed by gunfire, a 70 percent increase over last year.

The video comes on the heels of an incident earlier last week when a gunman shot at two officers in East San Jose. Neither was hit. It's the second time this year when someone fired at San Jose officers.

Kelly says the only public expression of anger and indignation comes when there's an officer-involved shooting.

"There ought to be anger and outrage when our society begins to accept that a cop killing is the new normal," Kelly said.

A San Jose community based activist group Silicon Valley De-Bug calls the video divisive.

"I think it's ludicrous. At a moment like this, they should really be building with the community and gaining more trust and they're doing the complete opposite," said Liz Gonzalez at Silicon Valley De-bug.

As a testimonial to what the police union is saying, the flag at its offices has been flying half-staff for months. There have been too many cop killings to raise it.

Click here for more stories about San Jose police.