Officer Safety and Wellness (OSW) Group Meeting Summary: Officer Deaths and Injuries from Gunfire

• NCJ Number: 255900
• Date Published: January 2012
• Length: 26 pages
• Agencies: BJA
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description; Legislation/Policy Analysis; Instructional Material; Conference Material

Annotation

This is a summary of the proceedings of the second meeting of the Officer Safety and Wellness (OSW) Group held on January 26, 2012, which addressed the first priority area, officer deaths and injuries from gunfire.

Abstract

The meeting addressed four issues on this topic: research, policy, training, and practice/programs. Regarding research, presentations and discussion focused on gaps in existing research on officer gunfire deaths and injuries. Policy considerations pertained to guidance for law enforcement agencies in how to manage gunfire deaths and injuries. Training presentations and discussions considered the type of training officers need to prevent gunfire deaths and injuries. The meeting considered specific programs and practices, including internal and external communications that address officer gunfire deaths and injuries. Some issues covered in presentations pertain to data on murders and fatal shootings of law enforcement officers, non-fatal assault, the importance of tracking non-fatal shootings, fatal ambush shootings, over-representation of African Americans, murders by members of extremist groups, foot pursuits, mentally ill offenders, weapon type and major calibers, multiple victim incidents, and fatal head wounds and number of body-entry wounds. Officer gunfire death case studies were also presented at the meeting. Based on the research presentation, case studies, background reading, individual expertise, and discussions throughout the day, the OSW Group broke into four smaller groups to discuss research, policy, training, and practice/programs. Discussion content and recommendations from the groups are presented in this report. 10 references and appended meeting agenda, list of attendees, and remarks by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder