Officers Feloniously Killed
Download Printable Document
This page provides information about duly sworn city, university and
college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement officers
who were feloniously killed in the line of duty during 2007 and met certain
other criteria.
Overview
- In 2007, 57 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in 51
separate incidents.
- Most of the slain officers (35 of the 57) were employed by city
police departments. Of the 35 victim officers, 12 were members of law
enforcement agencies in cities with 250,000 or more inhabitants. (Based
on Table 2.)
- Line-of-duty deaths occurred in 25 states and Puerto Rico. Nine
officers were feloniously killed in Texas, the most in any state in
2007. (Based on Table 1.)
More information about these topics (including annual
totals from 1998 to 2007) is provided in Tables 1, 2, 15, 16,
and 28.
Victim profile
- The average age of the officers who were feloniously killed was 37
years.
- The slain officers’ average length of law enforcement service was
10 years.
- All of the 57 officers slain in 2007 were male.
- Of the 57 victim officers, 47 were white, 8 were black, and 1 was
Asian/Pacific Islander. The race of 1 officer was not provided.
More information about these topics is provided in
Tables 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
and 11.
Circumstances
- 16 officers died in 2007 from felonious attacks during arrest situations.
- 16 officers died as results of ambush situations.
- 11 officers died during traffic pursuits/stops.
- 5 officers died while responding to disturbance calls.
- 4 officers died while investigating suspicious persons/circumstances.
- 3 officers died during tactical situations.
More information about this topic (including a breakdown
of the types of circumstances in which officers were feloniously killed)
is provided in Tables 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 31, 32,
and 33.
Assignments
- 40 officers who were slain in 2007 were on assigned vehicle patrol.
- 6 of the slain officers were off duty but acting in an official
capacity.
- 11 officers were assigned to other duties, such as special assignments
or undercover, when they were murdered.
- Of the 57 officers slain in 2007, 35 were assisted at the time of
the attacks.
- 16 officers were alone and unassisted at the time of the incidents.
More information about this topic is provided in Tables 15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25,
and 26.
Weapons
- Most officers (55) were killed in 2007 with firearms. Of these,
38 were killed with handguns. (A breakdown of the types of weapons
used in these slayings is provided in Table
27.)
- 2 officers were killed with their own weapons.
- 16 officers attempted to use their weapons; 11 officers fired their
weapons.
- 27 officers were slain with firearms when they were 0-5 feet from
the offenders.
More information about this topic is provided in Tables 12, 13, 14, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35,
and 36.
Body armor
- Most of the officers feloniously killed in 2007 (36 of the 57 officers)
were wearing body armor at the time of their murders.
- Of the 34 officers who were wearing body armor and killed with firearms:
- 15 suffered wounds to the front of the head.
- 7 were shot in the side of the head.
- 7 were wounded in the front upper torso.
- 2 were shot in the rear of the head.
- 2 officers were shot in the back.
- 1 was shot in the neck.
More information about this topic (including annual
totals from 1998 to 2007) is provided in Tables 37, 38, 39, 40,
and 41.
Regional and outlying area breakdowns
Of the 57 officers who died in 2007 as a result of felonious attacks:
- 31 officers were employed in the South.
- 9 officers were employed in the West.
- 9 officers were employed in the Midwest.
- 7 officers were employed in the Northeast.
- 1 officer was employed in Puerto Rico.
More information about this topic (including annual
totals from 1998 t0 2007) is provided in Tables 1, 21, 22, 29,
and 30.
Months, days, and times of incidents
- More officers (8) died from felonious assaults that occurred in
March than in any other month.
- Most officers (13) were involved in fatal assaults that occurred
on Saturday than on any other day. Twelve of the 57 officers killed
in the line of duty in 2007 died from incidents that occurred on Friday.
- More officers (12) were fatally injured in assaults that happened
from 12:01 a.m. to 2 a.m. than at any other time period.
More information about these topics (including annual
totals from 1998 to 2007) is provided in Tables 3, 4, 5, 17,
and 18.
Profile of alleged known assailants
In 2007, 62 alleged offenders were identified in connection with law
enforcement officers feloniously killed. Of those offenders, the following
characteristics are known:
- The average age of the alleged offenders was 29 years old.
- The average height was 5 feet 9 inches tall, and the average weight
was 177 pounds.
- All 62 of the alleged offenders were male.
- 35 of the alleged offenders were white; 24 were black; and 3 were
Asian/Pacific Islander.
- Most of the alleged offenders, 58 of the 62, had prior criminal
arrests.
- 19 of the alleged offenders were under judicial supervision at the
time of the incidents.
- 11 of the alleged offenders were intoxicated or under the influence
of alcohol at the time of the fatal incidents.
More information about these topics is provided in
Tables 42, 43, 44, 45, 46,
and 47.