I don't condone murder, but do you think it's possible the police deaths are a response to the police murders that have been happening for 100's of years?
Maybe some people realized that after constant harassment and threats, their only recourse was to get armed and protect themselves from the police.
Absolutely possible. To validate this theory, one would have to look at how those numbers develop over the decades. If you're right, they would start low and rise over time. I haven't found a good data source yet to confirm or falsify that.
That wasn't exactly my point though: there will always be justification for violence. MLK and Ghandi were great men because they saw that the escalating spiral of death and violence cannot be stopped by retribution.
What happens now will devastate black communities, encourage white flight, and possibly tip the next elections. Its not the first time, we've seen this happen before.
Maybe some people realized that after constant harassment and threats, their only recourse was to get armed and protect themselves from the police.