Last year, there were 47 law
enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, according to statistics
released by the FBI today.
This is 25 fewer than the 73
officers who died in 2011.
By region, the FBI stated
that 22 officers were killed as a result of criminal acts that occurred in the
South, eight officers in the West, six officers in the Northeast, five officers
died due to incidents in the Midwest, and six officers were killed in the U.S.
territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
By
circumstance, 12 officers died from injuries inflicted while investigating
suspicious persons or circumstances, eight who died were conducting traffic
pursuits or stops, five were engaged in tactical situations, and five officers
were killed as a result of ambushes (four due to entrapment/premeditated
situations and one during an unprovoked attack), according to the FBI.
Here is what the FBI report
stated:
Four officers' deaths
occurred as a result of answering disturbance calls (two of which were domestic
disturbance calls) and three officers were transporting, handling, or
maintaining custody of prisoners.
Two of the fallen officers
sustained fatal injuries during drug-related matters, two were attempting to
make other arrests, and two were performing investigative activities.
Two officers were responding
to robberies in progress, one was responding to a burglary in progress, and one
officer was killed as a result of handling a person with a mental illness.
Offenders
used firearms in 43 of the 47 felonious deaths. These included 30 incidents
with handguns, seven incidents with rifles, and three incidents with shotguns.
The type of firearm was not reported in three of the incidents.
Two victim officers were killed with vehicles
used as weapons; one was killed with a knife; and one officer died from injuries
inflicted with personal weapons, such as hands, fists, or feet.
Twenty
of the slain officers were wearing body armor at the times of the incidents.
Six of the officers fired their own weapons and two officers attempted to fire
their service weapons.
Three victim officers had
their weapons stolen; however, none of the officers were killed with their own
weapons.
An
additional 45 officers were accidentally killed in the line of duty in 2012.
This total represents eight fewer officers who
died in accidents when compared with the 53 officers who were accidentally
killed during the same time period in 2011.