Police are both dying and killing more often in 2016

With five officers killed, Thursday night's shooting at the otherwise peaceful protest in Dallas marked the single deadliest day for police since 9/11, per data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

That incident brings the total of police deaths in America this year to 26. By comparison, only 18 officers had been killed by this time last year. Police have also been ambushed more often this year than last, with 11 ambushes in 2016 to date easily outpacing 2015's eight ambushes total.

But while police are being killed somewhat more frequently, they are also killing slightly more often. So far, there have been 509 people fatally shot by police in the United States this year, as counted by The Washington Post using data from news reports and public records. On July 9, 2015, that tally was at 504.

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There is still no official federal record of officer-involved deaths nationwide, though the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics both say they are working to create accurate databases.