Many in law enforcement feel under siege because of public protests in which violence directed at them is encouraged.

For a couple of decades, murders of local, state and federal law enforcement officers and deputies were on the decline. Then last year, they soared – to 51, compared to 27 in 2013.

Already this year, 26 American law enforcement officers and deputies have been murdered.

Some have been killed in confrontations with armed suspects. But during the past few weeks, several have been executed in cold blood.

That comes after months of demonstrations against law enforcement officers accused of killing civilians needlessly. But too often, all in the peacekeeping profession have been targeted by protesters, with chants such as “Pigs in a blanket!” Complaints about such behavior have been relatively rare.

Are there a few bad apples in law enforcement? Of course. But the overwhelming majority of deputies and officers are people who do very difficult, dangerous jobs, because they believe in serving and protecting.

Their reward, it seems, is to be “profiled” as vicious thugs. That is, quite simply, wrong – and it is past time to stop making excuses for those who are putting cops in the crosshairs.