For Immediate Release
January 26, 2000

Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS KILLED AND ASSAULTED, 1998 (pdf)

Sixty-one law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty during 1998 according to national statistics released today in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program's publication Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 1998. The total is a decrease of 9 officers when compared with 1997 figures.

Of the 61 law enforcement officers killed in 1998, 38 were employed by city police departments, 8 by county police and sheriffs' offices, 4 by state agencies, 6 by federal agencies, and 5 were law enforcement officers in Puerto Rico.

Firearms continued to be the weapons most frequently used in the slaying of officers. Fifty-eight of the 61 slain officers were killed by firearms. Handguns were the murder weapons in 40 of the killings, rifles in 17, and a shotgun in 1. Six of these officers were slain with their own service weapons. Thirty-four of the 58 officers slain with firearms were wearing body armor when they were killed.

By region, 29 officers were slain in the South, 14 in the West, 10 in the Midwest, 3 in the Northeast, and 5 in U.S. Territories.

Sixteen officers were slain during arrest situations: 7 were investigating drug-related situations; 6 were serving arrest warrants; and 3 were attempting to prevent robberies or apprehend robbery suspects. Sixteen officers were slain while answering disturbance calls (9 of which were domestic disturbance calls), 10 in ambush situations, 9 while enforcing traffic laws, 6 while investigating suspicious persons or circumstances, and 4 while handling prisoners.

Fifty-five suspects have been arrested by law enforcement agencies in connection with 60 of these slayings. Additionally, 13 suspects were justifiably killed (2 by victim officers); 4 committed suicide subsequent to slaying the officers; and 3 are fugitives. No suspects have been identified in connection with 1 slaying.

An additional 78 officers were accidentally killed in 1998 while performing their official duties. This total was an increase of 16 when compared with the 62 accidental deaths that occurred in 1997. Of these 78 officers, 52 officers were killed in automobile, motorcycle, and aircraft accidents; 14 were accidentally struck by vehicles; 3 were accidentally shot; and 9 were killed in other types of accidents such as falls, drownings, etc.

In 1998, a total of 59,545 line-of-duty assaults were reported by 8,000 law enforcement agencies covering 70 percent of the total United States population.

Over 82 percent of assaults on law enforcement officers during 1998 were committed with personal weapons—hands, fists, feet, etc. Thirty-one percent of these assaults resulted in injuries. Firearms were used in 3 percent of all assaults; injuries resulted in 21 percent of these incidents. Knives or cutting instruments were used in 2 percent of assaults; 23 percent of these victims received injuries. Twelve percent of the officers were attacked with other dangerous weapons; of these officers, 30 percent were injured.