For Immediate Release
November 21 , 2005
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Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
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FBI
Releases Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Statistics for
2004
Washington, D.C. -- The
FBI reported today that 57 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed
in the line of duty last year. The FBI's Uniform Crime Report Law Enforcement
Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2004, showed that these officers lost
their lives in 50
separate incidents in 22 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories
of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Data from 2, 5, and 10 years ago showed
that the 57 officers murdered in the line of duty in 2004 were 5 more than
the 52 officers feloniously killed in 2003, 6 more than the 51 officers murdered
in 2000, but 17 fewer than the 74 officers slain in 1995. Nearly 10,500 local,
state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies submitted data regarding
their officers who were killed or assaulted in 2004 to the Uniform Crime
Reporting (UCR) Program.
Officer Profile
A composite picture of
the victim officers feloniously killed in 2004 showed that the average age
was 39 and the average length of service in law enforcement was 12 years.
Fifty-four of the victim officers were male. Forty-six officers were white,
10 were black, and 1 was Asian/Pacific Islander.
Circumstance
Of the 57 officers feloniously
slain last year, 17 were killed in arrest situations. Twelve officers were
slain in ambush situations, 10 officers while investigating disturbance calls,
6 while investigating suspicious persons or circumstances, 6 during traffic
stops or pursuits, 3 while involved in resolving hostage situations or other
high-risk tactical situations, 2 officers were slain while handling mentally
deranged individuals, and 1 while handling a prisoner.
Weapons
Offenders used firearms
to kill 54 of the 57 victim officers. Of these 54 officers, 36 were slain
with handguns, 13 with rifles, and 5 were killed with shotguns. Two officers
were killed when they were intentionally hit by vehicles. One officer was
killed by an individual with a knife.
Region
In the South, the Nation's
most populous region, 27 officers were murdered in the line of duty, more
than in any other region. Ten officers were slain in the Midwest, 9 in the
West, and 8 in the Northeast. Three officers were slain in the U.S. Territories.
Suspects
The data that law enforcement
agencies provided the FBI's UCR Program showed that 58 alleged assailants
were identified in connection with the 50 separate incidents that claimed
the lives of the 57 law enforcement officers. All but one of the incidents
in which law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in 2004 were cleared
by arrest or exceptional means.
Accidental Deaths
Eighty-two law enforcement
officers were killed in accidents while performing their duties in 2004.
Over half of the officers killed in accidents, 48, died as a result of automobile
wrecks. Ten officers died of injuries sustained in motorcycle mishaps, and
10 were killed in traffic-related incidents, e.g., struck by vehicles while
directing traffic, assisting motorists, or stopping traffic at roadblocks.
Four officers were mistakenly shot, 3 died in aircraft accidents, 3 drowned,
1 officer fell to his death, and 3 were killed in other situations.
Assaults
The Nation's law enforcement
agencies reported to the FBI's UCR Program that 59,373 officers were assaulted
during the performance of their duties, and 16,563 of those officers suffered
injuries as a result of these attacks. Personal weapons (hands, fists, feet,
etc.) were used in
80.1 percent of the attacks.
Firearms were used in 3.6 percent, knives or cutting instruments in 1.9 percent.
Other dangerous weapons were used in 14.5 percent of the attacks on officers.
The complete annual
report, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2004, is
available at the FBI's Internet site at <www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm>.
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