FBI UNIFORM CRIME REPORT

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSAULTED IN THE LINE OF DUTY 1994-2003

From 1994-2003 there were 571,358 law enforcement officers assaulted in the line of duty. This is an average of 57,135 annually. On average just over 30 percent of these assaults resulted in injury to the officer. In 2003, 57,841 law enforcement officers were assaulted in the line of duty, which is a rate of 12 assaults for every 100 officers nation wide. Of these assaults 1,866 were committed with firearms, 1,074 with knives or other cutting instruments, 8,059 with other dangerous weapons; blunt objects, vehicles, etc., And 46,842 with personal weapons such as hands, fists, and feet. By region, law enforcement agencies in the South, the Nations most populous region, collectively reported 14 assaults for every 100 officers.

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FELONIOUSLY KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY 1994-2003

From 1994-2003 there were 616 law enforcement officers feloniously killed in the line of duty. By region, the South had the highest number of officers killed at 275. These figures do not include the number of officers lost as a result of the attacks on September 11, 2001.

A total of 58,066 line-of-duty assaults were reported by 9,987 law enforcement agencies covering 75.0 percent of the U.S. population. The rate of assaults per 100 officers was 12.0 and 16,494 officers suffered injuries as a result of these attacks.    

Of those line-of-duty assaults, 80.6 percent were committed with personal weapons such as hands, fists, feet, etc., and 29.8 percent of these incidents resulted in injury to the officer. Firearms were used in 3.3 percent of all assaults; injuries resulted in 12.2 percent of these incidents. Knives and cutting instruments were used in 1.8 percent of assaults with 17.1 percent of these victims sustaining injuries. Other dangerous weapons were

used in 14.3 percent of the assaults on law enforcement officers, and 25.7 percent of these incidents resulted in injuries.

Nationally,  56 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2002. Twenty-three of the 27 slain officers were employed by city police departments, 19 by county police and sheriff’s offices, 4 by state agencies, and 2 by a federal agency.    

Firearms were used in 51 of the 56 deaths. Handguns were the murder weapon in 38 of the killings by firearms, rifles in 10, and shotguns in 3. Of the officers killed with firearms, 34 were wearing body armor at the time of the incidents. Four officers were intentionally struck and killed by vehicles, and one officer was stabbed to death with a knife.    

Fifteen officers were slain in ambush situations. 10 were killed during arrest situations. A further breakdown of the arrest situations showed that 4 officers were killed by robbery suspects, 3 were involved in drug-related matters, and 3 officers were attempting other arrests. Nine law enforcement officers were slain while answering disturbance calls, 5 of which involved family quarrels and 4 of which involved bar fights, person with firearm etc. Eight officers were investigating suspicious persons or circumstances at the time of their deaths, and 4 officers were slain by mentally deranged assailants.