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FBI 2016 Statistics
Law Enforcement
Officers Killed and Assaulted in the Line of Duty
According to statistics collected by the FBI, 118 law enforcement
officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents in 2016. Of these, 66
law enforcement officers died as a result of felonious acts, and 52
officers died in accidents. In addition, 57,180 officers were victims
of line-of-duty assaults. Comprehensive data tables about these
incidents and brief narratives describing the fatal attacks and
selected assaults resulting in injury are included in the 2016 edition
of Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, released today.
Felonious Deaths
The 66 felonious deaths occurred in 29 states and in Puerto Rico. The
number of officers killed as a result of criminal acts in 2016
increased by 25 when compared with the 41 officers who were feloniously
killed in 2015. The five- and 10-year comparisons show an increase of
17 felonious deaths compared with the 2012 figure (49 officers) and an
increase of eight deaths compared with 2007 data (58 officers).
Officer Profiles: The average age of the officers who were feloniously
killed was 40 years old. The victim officers had served in law
enforcement for an average of 13 years at the times of the fatal
incidents. Of the 66 officers, 64 were male, and two were female.
Sixty-one of the officers were white, four were black/African-American,
and one was Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander.
The annual Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report for
2016 shows 118 law enforcement officers were killed and 57,180 were
assaulted in the line of duty last year.
Circumstances: At the time the 66 law enforcement officers were
feloniously killed:
17 were ambushed (entrapment/premeditation);
13 were answering disturbance calls (seven were domestic disturbance
calls);
nine were investigating suspicious persons/circumstances;
six were engaged in tactical situations;
five were performing investigative activities (such as surveillances,
searches, or interviews);
four were conducting traffic pursuits/stops;
three were investigating drug-related matters;
three were victims of unprovoked attacks;
one was answering a burglary in progress call or pursuing a burglary
suspect(s);
one was answering a robbery in progress call or pursuing a robbery
suspect(s); and
four were attempting other arrests.
Weapons: Offenders used firearms to kill 62 of the 66 victim officers.
Of these 62 officers, 37 were slain with handguns, 24 with rifles, and
one with a shotgun. Four officers were killed with vehicles used as
weapons.
Regions: Thirty of the felonious deaths occurred in the South, 17 in
the West, 13 in the Midwest, four in the Northeast, and two in Puerto
Rico.
Suspects: Law enforcement agencies identified 59 alleged assailants in
connection with the felonious line-of-duty deaths. Forty-five of the
assailants had prior criminal arrests, and 14 of the offenders were
under judicial supervision at the times of the felonious incidents.
Accidental Deaths
Fifty-two law enforcement officers were killed accidentally while
performing their duties in 2016. The majority (26 officers) were killed
in automobile accidents. The number of accidental line-of-duty deaths
increased by seven when compared with the 45 officers who were
accidentally killed in 2015.
Officer Profiles: The average age of the officers who were accidentally
killed was 38 years old; the average number of years the victim
officers had served in law enforcement was 11. Of the 52 officers
accidentally killed, 50 were male, and two were female. Forty of the
officers were white, nine were black/African-American, and race was not
reported for three of the officers.
Circumstances: Of the 52 officers accidentally killed:
26 died as a result of automobile accidents;
12 were struck by vehicles;
seven officers died due to motorcycle accidents;
three were accidentally shot;
two officers drowned;
one died in an aircraft accident; and
one officer died in another type of duty-related accident.
Use of Seatbelts: Use of seatbelts was reported for 21 of the 26
officers killed in automobile accidents. Of these 21 officers, 10 were
wearing seatbelts, and 11 were not wearing seatbelts at the times of
the accidents. Of the 11 victim officers who were fatally injured in
automobile accidents and were not wearing seatbelts, two were seated in
parked motor vehicles at the times of the accidents.
Regions: Twenty-four of the accidental deaths occurred in the South, 12
in the Midwest, nine in the West, five in the Northeast, and two in
Puerto Rico.
Assaults
In 2016, of the 57,180 officers assaulted while performing their
duties, 28.9 percent were injured. The largest percentage of victim
officers (32.2 percent) were assaulted while responding to disturbance
calls. Assailants used personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.) in
78.0 percent of the incidents, firearms in 4.2 percent of incidents,
and knives or other cutting instruments in 1.9 percent of the
incidents. Other types of dangerous weapons were used in 16.0 percent
of assaults.
Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2016 is available
exclusively on the FBI’s website at https://ucr.fbi.gov/leoka/2016.
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