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Home LEOKA 2015 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 2015 and who met the appropriate criteria.

Overview

In 2015, a total of 1,336 federal law enforcement officers were assaulted. Of these officers, 1 was killed and 172 were reported injured. Extent of injuries (if any) was not reported for 349 of the officers. (See Tables 123, 124, 125, and 126.) By department:

  • The U.S. Department of the Interior employed 570 of the officers who were assaulted; 85 of these officers were injured. (See Tables 123 and 125.) 
  • The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employed 488 of the federal officers who were assaulted, and 36 of these officers were injured. (See Tables 123 and 125.) 
  • The U.S. Department of Justice employed 260 of the officers who were assaulted, 1 of these officers was killed and 45 were injured. (See Tables 123 and 125.) 
  • The U.S. Capitol Police employed 13 officers who were assaulted, and of these, 5 officers were injured. (See Tables 123 and 125.) 
  • The U.S. Postal Inspection Service employed 4 of the officers who were assaulted in 2015, and 1 of these officers was injured. (See Tables 123 and 125.) 
  • The U.S. Department of the Treasury employed 1 officer who was assaulted but not injured in 2015. (See Tables 123 and 125.) 

See also the summaries of Assaults by Department.

Weapons (See Table 126.)

  • 543 federal officers were assaulted with personal weapons such as hands, fists, or feet, and 99 of these assaults resulted in injuries to the officers. For 144 of these incidents, the extent of the injuries (if any) was not reported. 
  • 135 officers were assaulted with blunt instruments, resulting in 1 officer being injured. The extent of injuries (if any) was not reported for 134 officers. 
  • 97 officers were assaulted with firearms, resulting in 1 officer being killed and 14 officers being injured. The extent of the injuries (if any) was not reported for 19 officers assaulted with firearms. 
  • 89 federal officers were assaulted with vehicles; of these, 13 officers suffered injuries. For 30 of the officers assaulted with vehicles, the extent of their injuries (if any) was not reported. 
  • 33 officers were assaulted with knives or other cutting instruments, resulting in 7 officers being injured. 
  • 439 officers were assaulted with various other types of weapons, resulting in 38 officers being injured. The extent of injuries was not reported for 22 officers. 

Type of activity (See Table 130.)

  • 561 of the federal officers assaulted in 2015 were on patrol or guard duty when they were assaulted. 
  • 349 officers were assaulted while conducting investigations or searches. 
  • 293 officers were assaulted while attempting arrests or serving summonses. 
  • 48 officers were assaulted while maintaining custody of prisoners. 
  • 20 officers were on protection duty at the time of the assaults. 
  • 18 officers were assaulted while on court duty. 
  • 2 officers were assigned to office duty when they were assaulted. 
  • 45 officers were assigned to other duties when assaulted. 

Regional and outlying area breakdowns (See Table 128.)

Of the federal law enforcement officers who were killed and assaulted in 2015:

  • 456 officers were in the West. 
  • 371 officers were in the South. 
  • 299 officers were in the Midwest. 
  • 61 officers were in the Northeast. 
  • 8 officers were in Puerto Rico. 
  • 4 officers were in the Caribbean. 
  • 1 officer was in the British Virgin Islands. 

Dispositional information

  • 832 alleged assailants were identified in connection with the 1,336 attacks on federal officers. (See Table 123.) 
  • Of the 832 offenders, dispositional information was reported for 445 of them. (See Table 131.) 
  • At the time of this report, the following dispositional information was available for 445 of the suspects (See Table 131): 
  • 276 were found guilty, and 6 were found not guilty or the charges were dismissed. 
  • 95 of the offenders were awaiting trial. 
  • 48 offenders’ cases were pending prosecutive opinion. 
  • 12 offenders’ prosecutions were declined.  
  • 7 offenders are deceased. 
  • 1 offender remained a fugitive. 

Five-year totals

From 2011 through 2015, there were 8,067 federal officers assaulted; 9 of these officers were killed. (See Table 126.)

  • In the last five years, 4 officers employed by the U.S. Department of Justice have been killed in the line of duty (See Table 125). Of these officers: 
    • 3 officers were employed by the U.S. Marshals Service. Two of these officers were killed in 2011, and 1 officer was killed in 2015. 
    • 1 officer with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was killed in 2013. 
  • Of the other 5 officers killed over the last five years (See Table 125): 
    • 3 officers were with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. One officer employed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was killed in 2011, and 2 officers with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection were killed in 2013. 
    • 2 officers were with the U.S. Department of the Interior. One officer employed by the National Park Service was killed in 2012, and 1 officer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs was killed in 2013. 

Information about federal officers can be found in Tables 123-131.