NCJ Number
203232
Date Published
2003
Length
109 pages
Annotation
In addition to narrative summaries of each of the incidents (n=56) in which a law enforcement officer died a felonious death while serving in the line of duty in 2002, this report provides statistical tables that indicate the time and circumstances of the felonious killings, accidental deaths, and felonious assaults of the Nation's law enforcement officers while serving in the line of duty; in addition, data are reported on the types of weapons used in the felonious murders and assaults of officers.
Abstract
In 2002, 56 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in 26 States and the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico. City police departments employed 27 of these officers; county police and sheriff's officers employed 19 of the officers; State agencies employed 4 of the officers; and Federal agencies employed 2 of the officers; the 4 officers who died in Puerto Rico were employed by city agencies. Fifteen of the officers were killed in ambush situations, 10 were killed in the course of traffic pursuits or stops, and 10 were killed during arrests. A breakdown of the arrest situations indicates that four officers were killed by robbery suspects, three were involved in drug-related offenses, and three officers were attempting other types of arrests. Nine officers were killed while dealing with disturbance calls, five of which involved family arguments and four of which involved bar fights. Eight officers were investigating suspicious persons or circumstances when they were killed, and four officers were slain by mentally deranged assailants. In addition to 2002, data on slain officers cover the years from 1993. Data include types of assignment, weapons used, whether body armor was worn, and places, times, and the characteristics of the 61 assailants identified. According to data reported by local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies, 77 officers were accidentally killed while acting in official capacities in 2002. These deaths occurred in 32 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Reporting agencies indicated that 58,066 officers were assaulted in the line of duty in 2002. Of these officers, 28.4 percent suffered personal injury. 70 tables and appended correlation between tables in this report and those in previous editions, as well as a breakdown by subject matter and tables relating to each subject