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Home LEOKA 2011 Federal Officers Killed and Assaulted

Federal Officers Killed and Assaulted

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This page provides information regarding federal law enforcement officers who were killed or assaulted in the line of duty in 2011 and who met the appropriate criteria.

Overview

In 2011, 3 officers, 2 officers with the U.S. Department of Justice and 1 officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, were killed in the line of duty.  In addition, 1,686 federal law enforcement officers were assaulted.  Of these officers, 254 were injured.  By department:

  • The U.S. Capitol Police employed 21 of the officers who were assaulted, and 8 of these officers were injured.
  • In addition to the officer who was killed in the line of duty, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also employed 835 of the federal officers who were assaulted, and 90 of these officers were injured. 
  • The U.S. Department of the Interior employed 536 of the officers who were assaulted, and 113 of these officers were injured.
  • In addition to the 2 federal officers killed, the U.S. Department of Justice employed 287 of the officers who were assaulted, and 41 of these officers were injured.
  • No U.S. Department of the Treasury employees were assaulted or injured in 2011.
  • The U.S. Postal Inspection Service employed 7 of the officers who were assaulted in 2011; 2 of these officers were injured.

More information about this topic is provided in Tables 74, 75, 76, and 77.

See also the summaries of Assaults by Department.

Weapons

  • 663 federal officers were attacked with personal weapons such as hands, fists, or feet, and 147 of these assaults resulted in injuries to the officers.
  • 102 federal officers were assaulted with vehicles, and 20 of these officers suffered injuries.
  • 92 officers were assaulted with firearms resulting in 3 officers killed and 7 officers injured.
  • 19 officers were attacked with blunt instruments resulting in 6 officers injured.
  • 18 officers were assaulted with knives or other cutting instruments, and 4 of these officers suffered injuries.
  • 15 officers were involved in bomb-related incidents; none were injured.
  • 780 officers were assaulted with various other types of weapons resulting in 70 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

  • 876 of the federal officers assaulted in 2011 were on patrol or guard duty when they were assaulted.
  • 469 officers were assaulted while attempting arrests or serving summonses.
  • 166 officers were attacked while conducting investigations or searches.
  • 60 officers were assaulted while maintaining custody of prisoners.
  • 29 officers were assaulted while on court duty.
  • 12 officers were assigned to office duty when they were assaulted.
  • 10 officers were on protection duty at the time of their attacks.
  • 67 officers were assigned to other duties when 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 federal law enforcement officers who were assaulted in 2011:

  • 896 officers were stationed in the West.
  • 529 officers were stationed in the South.
  • 175 officers were stationed in the Midwest.
  • 81 officers were stationed in the Northeast.
  • 4 officers were stationed in Puerto Rico.
  • 2 officers were stationed in Mexico.
  • The duty station was not reported for 2 victim officers.

More information about this topic (including a complete breakdown by state) is provided in Table 79.

Dispositional information

  • 1,109 alleged assailants were identified in connection with the 1,689 assaults on federal officers.
  • Of the 1,109 offenders, dispositional information was reported for 466 of them.
  • Of the 466 offenders for whom dispositions were provided:
    • 228 were found guilty.
    • 132 of the offenders were awaiting trial, and 9 were found not guilty or the charges were dismissed.
    • Prosecution was declined for 67 offenders; and prosecution was pending for 18 offenders.
    • 5 offenders were found incompetent to stand trial, and 4 are deceased.
    • 3 offenders remained fugitives at the time of this report.

More information about this topic is provided in Tables 74 and 82.

Five-year totals

  • From 2007 through 2011, there were 8,379 federal officers assaulted; 7 of these officers were killed.
  • In each of the last 4 years, an officer employed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been killed in the line of duty.  Of these officers, 3 were employed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 1 officer with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
  • Since 2008, 3 officers employed by the U.S. Department of Justice have been killed in the line of duty.  An officer employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation was killed in the line of duty in 2008.  Two officers employed by the U.S. Marshals Service were killed in 2011.

More information about this topic is provided in Tables 76, 77, and 78.