NCJ Number
166982
Date Published
1991
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Data in this training videotape were obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on cases involving police officers who were killed while handling suspects.
Abstract
Compiled over a 10-year period, data pointed out conditions or circumstances that contributed to police officer deaths on a significant number of occasions. In almost half the cases, police officers were killed after they took the suspect into custody. Many police officers were killed in their unit or while handcuffing the suspect. The second highest percentage of police officers killed (27 percent) met their deaths while attempting to control suspects prior to having them in physical custody; 18 percent of police officers were killed while engaged in foot pursuit of the suspect. In about 66 percent of the cases, the police officer was alone and only one prisoner was involved in 80 percent of the cases. In those cases where backup was present at some time before the killing, half the backup police officers were not on the scene when the police officer was killed; they had either left or were engaged in some other incident-related activity. In 41 percent of the cases, two possible problems related to police officer attitudes were identified: (1) police officers tended to misjudge the danger; and (2) police officers became impatient and attempted to complete the arrest process quickly. In 79 percent of the cases, police officers were not wearing vests. In 63 percent of the cases, police officers and the suspect engaged in some kind of physical fight. In 43 percent of the cases, police officers were disarmed by the suspect and killed with their own weapon. More than 15 percent of all suspects had been drinking, and 46 percent of the cases showed an apparent willingness by the suspect to wait for an opportunity to attack. The videotape offers the following suggestions to improve police officer safety: pushing a fleeing suspect may be more effective than the traditional tackle and wrestling match; and hard kicks to the shins may allow police officers to regain control. The videotape also recommends police officers use caution when handling suspects, remember all foot pursuits are dangerous, avoid handling prisoners alone, use tactics that prevent suspect attack, handcuff and search all suspects, and realize every suspect is potentially dangerous.