Federal Officers Killed and Assaulted
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This page furnishes information regarding federal law enforcement officers who were killed or assaulted in the line of duty in 2009 and who met the appropriate criteria.
Please note that beginning in 2006, the weapon type "threat" is no longer a weapon category. In order for a threat to be included in these data, a weapon must have been present when the threat was made. These types of assaults are reported under the particular weapon with which the offender threatened the victim.
Overview
- In 2009, there were 1,807 federal law enforcement officers assaulted, and 181 of these officers were injured. One federal officer was killed in the line of duty.
By department:
- The U.S. Capitol Police employed 19 of the officers who were assaulted, and 9 of these officers were injured.
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security employed 1,203 of the federal officers who were assaulted, and 6 of these officers were injured. One officer was killed in the line of duty.
- The U.S. Department of the Interior employed 493 of the officers who were assaulted, and 127 of these officers were injured.
- The U.S. Department of Justice employed 83 of the officers who were assaulted, and 35 of these officers were injured.
- The U.S. Department of the Treasury employed 3 of the officers who were assaulted, and 1 officer was injured in an attack.
- The U.S. Postal Inspection Service employed 6 of the officers who were assaulted in 2009, and 3 of these officers were injured.
More information about this topic is provided in Tables 74 and 75.
See also Summary of Assaults by Department.
Weapons
- 464 federal officers were attacked with personal weapons such as hands, fists, or feet, and 83 of these assaults resulted in injuries to the officers.
- 109 federal officers were assaulted with vehicles and 18 of these officers suffered injuries.
- 89 officers were assaulted with firearms resulting in 1 officer’s death and 6 officers injured.
- 21 officers were attacked with blunt instruments resulting in 8 officers injured.
- 16 officers were assaulted with knives or other cutting instruments resulting in 3 officers injured.
- 1,108 officers were assaulted with various other types of dangerous weapons resulting in 63 officers injured.
More information about this topic (including a complete breakdown of the types of weapons used to attack federal officers) is provided in Tables 77, 78, 79, and 80.
Type of activity
- 1,304 of the 1,807 federal officers assaulted in 2009 were on patrol or guard duty when they were assaulted.
- 351 officers were assaulted while attempting arrests or trying to serve summonses.
- 51 officers were assaulted while maintaining custody of prisoners.
- 42 officers were attacked while conducting investigations or searches.
- 13 officers were on protection duty at the time of their attacks.
- 10 officers were assigned to office duty when they were assaulted.
More information about this topic (including a complete breakdown of the type of activities in which federal officers were attacked) is provided in Table 81.
Regional and outlying area breakdowns
Of the 1,807 federal law enforcement officers who were assaulted in 2009:
- 1,145 officers were stationed in the West.
- 483 officers were stationed in the South.
- 147 officers were stationed in the Midwest.
- 28 officers were stationed in the Northeast.
- 1 officer was stationed in Puerto Rico.
- 1 officer was stationed in Bulgaria.
- 1 officer’s location could not be determined, and 1 officer’s location was not reported.
More information about this topic (including a complete breakdown by state) is provided in Table 79.
Dispositional information
- 576 alleged assailants were identified in connection with the 1,807 assaults on federal officers.
- Of the 576 offenders, dispositional information was reported for 244 of them.
- Of the 244 offenders for whom dispositions were provided, 83 were found guilty.
- 81 of the offenders were awaiting trial and 21 were found not guilty.
More information about this topic is provided in Tables 74 and 82.
Five-year totals
- From 2005 through 2009, there were 7,959 federal officers assaulted, 4 of whom were killed.
- Three of the officers who were slain in the 5-year time frame were employed by the Department of Homeland Security. One officer was killed in the line of duty in 2005, one died in 2008, and the other died in 2009. The fourth officer, slain in the line of duty in 2008, was employed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
More information about this topic is provided in Tables 76 and 77.
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