The effort to execute a narcotics search warrant culminated in the gunning down of six Philadelphia police officers on Wednesday. According to The Washington Post, the shooter had “a history of gun convictions.” There were no fatalities, thankfully, but even still, the shooter “could be charged with attempted murder and numerous other counts that could land him in prison for the rest of his life.”

There was, of course, instantaneous gun-control blather. Fox News reports, “Sen. Kamala Harris faced criticism Wednesday for promoting her campaign’s gun control plan during an appearance on CNN that coincided with breaking news about the police standoff in Philadelphia.” And according to CNSNews.com, “[Sen. Cory] Booker, discussing the then-ongoing police standoff with an armed criminal in Philadelphia, seemed to suggest that gun control laws would prevent bad guys from getting guns.”

But beyond the gun-control tug of war, there’s another infuriating and underreported element to this story: the growing contempt that some Americans seem to have for law enforcement. As Fox News reports, “Onlookers were seen taunting and throwing things at Philadelphia police Wednesday night amid a wild shootout and subsequent standoff that saw six cops wounded, and video posted online shows one woman shoving a police officer making his way to the scene.”

Local reporter Alexandria Hoff spoke for most of us when she said, “A major moment of disappointment this evening was watching a crowd of people taunt police officers, laughing and yelling at them in the midst of the gunfire.” She later stated, “I should add — 98% of people here on scene were respectful and concerned. That moment was just such a startling thing to see in the middle of something so chaotic.”

But what are we to expect when leading Democrats keep trotting out racially charged lies? As presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris last week asserted, “Michael Brown’s murder forever changed Ferguson and America.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren chimed in, “5 years ago Michael Brown was murdered by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.”

Note to Harris and Warren: A murder is an unlawful killing. And as anyone who bothered to read the Obama Justice Department’s exhaustive report on the Ferguson case knows, the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” movement was built on a rotten lie, and there was nothing unlawful about Officer Darren Wilson’s actions toward the rampaging thug named Michael Brown.

Sadly, this manufactured hatred of law enforcement can take a toll. According to the New York Post, “A veteran cop became the ninth NYPD officer to commit suicide this year when he shot himself in the head at his Queens home Wednesday evening — just a day after a fellow city policeman killed himself, authorities said.”

We can’t be certain what prompted these suicides, but their sheer number — 160 in 2018 alone — does demonstrate just how draining the job can be. Taunting them can only make it worse.