Fact
Sheet For Law Enforcement Officers Killed And Assaulted, 2002
Uniform Crime Reporting Program Releases LEOKA Statistics for 2002
Washington, DC
-- Fifty-six law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in
the line of duty in 2002 according to
the FBI’s Uniform
Crime Reporting Program’s annual report, Law Enforcement Officers
Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA), 2002, released today. The number of officers
killed has decreased 25.0 percent from the 2001 number, when 70 officers
were killed.
Circumstance
An analysis of data by circumstance showed that fifteen of the victim
officers were killed in ambush situations, 10 were slain in traffic
pursuits or stops, and 10 were killed during arrest situations. Nine
of the officers were responding to disturbance calls, and 8 were investigating
suspicious persons or circumstances. Mentally deranged assailants murdered
4 officers.
Weapons
Firearms were the weapons used to kill the majority of the victim
officers. Of the 51 officers slain with firearms, 38 were killed with
handguns, 10 were slain with rifles, and 3 were killed with shotguns.
Four of the victim officers were killed with their own weapons. Four
officers were struck and killed with motor vehicles, and 1 officer
was slain with a knife or cutting instrument.
Region
A review of the data by region showed that 25 officers were murdered
in the South, 12 in the Midwest, 9 in the West, and 5 in the Northeast.
Five officers were killed in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Suspects
An analysis of the data reported about the assailants showed that
61 known assailants were suspected of murdering the 56 victim officers
in 53 incidents in 2002. Forty-five of the offenders have been arrested.
Eight of the known assailants were justifiably killed by person(s)
other than the victim officers, 4 committed suicide, 3 were killed
by the victim officers during the fatal incidents, and 1 suspect remains
at large.
Accidental Deaths
In addition to the officers feloniously killed, 77 officers were accidentally
killed in the performance of their duties in 2002. This is one fewer
than the number reported in 2001. Fifty-five officers were victims
of automobile, motorcycle, or aircraft accidents. Twelve officers were
struck by vehicles, 3 were accidentally shot, and 7 died in other types
of accidents.
Assaults
In 2002, while performing their duties, a total of 58,066 law enforcement
officers were assaulted, and 16,494 suffered injuries as a result of
these attacks. Assaults on officers were most often committed with
personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.), used in 80.6 percent of
the attacks. Other dangerous weapons were used in 14.3 percent of assaults
on law enforcement officers, firearms in 3.3 percent, and knives or
cutting instruments in 1.8 percent of assaults on officers.
The complete annual report, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and
Assaulted, 2002, is available on the FBI’s Internet site at <www.fbi.ucr/ucr.htm>.