Serious attacks against Honolulu police officers are up since last year, and officials are concerned the violence is impacting recruiting and public safety.

There have been 21 cases of first-degree attempted murder of a law enforcement officer on Oahu so far this year compared to only three last year, according to the Honolulu Police Department’s data dashboard.

A single incident may have multiple offenses tied to it, and HPD spokesperson Michelle Yu said 17 of the 21 cases arose from the New Year’s Day pursuit and gun battles with an attempted- murder suspect. The 17 cases reflect the 17 officers involved in the Jan. 1 shooting that ended near the University of Hawaii campus in Manoa with two officers hospitalized with gunshot wounds and the 44-year-old suspect dead.

All told, there have been five separate incidents of attempted murder of a police officer on Oahu so far this year.

“Everyone knows that police work is dangerous, and most of the public appreciates the difficult work that our officers do every day, 24/7,” said Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan. “It is unfortunate that some individuals in the community persist in wanting to harm others. We do everything we can to stop them and to keep the public safe. The HPD appreciates and respects the brave individuals who take the oath to protect and serve. They are our family members, friends, neighbors and classmates.”

HPD data also show 22 cases of assaults against officers so far this year compared to 25 in all of 2023. Harassment cases total 172 so far this year compared to 258 last year.

“Whenever a criminal suspect is brazen enough to attack a police officer, they demonstrate that they have zero respect for civil society and, therefore, have zero limitations on what they’d do to innocent members of the public,” said Robert Cavaco, an HPD lieutenant and president of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers.

“As police officers, we know we have a dangerous job and that we will encounter dangerous people. What we need to count on, however, is that when these criminals are arrested for assaulting our officers, we need them to be immediately charged and prosecuted vigorously. We need to draw a line in the sand and ensure that there is zero tolerance for attacking an officer. It’s when we see that commitment falter we see negative impacts to morale.”

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said policing has always been a dangerous job, and the “brave men and women of the Hono­lulu Police Department put their lives on the line” every day to protect the community.

“Every act of violence against law enforcement is not only an attack on individual officers but a threat to the safety and security of our entire community. It is a reminder of the immense challenges and sacrifices that our officers face every time they put on the uniform,” Blangiardi said.

Nationwide, from 2021 to 2023 more police officers were “feloniously killed” — 194 of them — than in any other consecutive three-year period in the past 20 years, according to the FBI’s Officers Killed and Assaulted in the Line of Duty, 2023 Special Report.

Seventy-three officers were killed nationwide in 2021, 61 in 2022, and 60 last year.

Of the 57 offenders who killed police officers last year, 54 were male, 28 were white and eight were reported as suffering from a mental illness, the FBI report said.

From 2014 through 2023, the South region of the country had the most line-of-duty deaths yearly compared to other regions. However, there was a 38% decrease in line-of-duty deaths in the region in 2023, or 20 deaths compared to 32 in 2022. Last year marked the lowest number of line-of-duty deaths in the South — 19 — since 2015.

Nationwide, the rate of officers assaulted has increased in each of the past three years, according to the FBI. Police departments and law enforcement agencies reported that 79,091 officers were assaulted in 2023, marking the highest officer assault rate in the past 10 years.

Most officer assaults — 6,783 incidents — occurred when responding to simple assaults against a nonofficer, followed by responses to drug/narcotic violations, or 4,879 incidents.

“The number of officers assaulted and injured by firearms has climbed over the years, reaching a 10-year high in 2023 with approximately 466 officers assaulted and injured by firearms,” according to the FBI study.

In the most recent serious assault of a police officer on Oahu, two men were arrested Monday after they allegedly drove a stolen car into a police officer in Ewa Beach. HPD said Jeffrey Moral Pascua, 40, was allegedly driving a stolen car in Makakilo with Alan Bert Cordero, 43, when police officers spotted the vehicle and began pursuing it.

When the vehicle stopped in the Ewa Beach area, officers approached on foot and the driver allegedly intentionally accelerated toward an officer, who fell on the hood and was injured, according to HPD. Yu said the officer was treated at a medical facility and released.

Pascua was arrested on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and auto theft. Cordero was arrested on suspicion of breaking into a car and third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug. The investigation is ongoing.

“Charges will be sought with the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney,” HPD said. No charges had been filed as of Thursday.