This page provides information regarding accidental line-of-duty deaths of duly sworn city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement officers who met the same criteria as officers feloniously killed.
Overview
- In 2015, 45 law enforcement officers died as the result of accidents that occurred in the line of duty. (See Table 47.)
- Accidental line-of-duty deaths of law enforcement officers occurred in 21 states. (See Table 47.)
- By region, 29 officers who were accidentally killed were employed by agencies in the South, 6 by agencies in the Midwest, 5 by agencies in the Northeast, and 5 by agencies in the West. (See Table 47.)
- Of the officers accidentally killed, 19 were employed by city police departments, 15 were employed by county agencies, and 11 were employed by state agencies. (Based on Table 48.)
Victim profile
- The average age of the officers who were accidentally killed in 2015 was 37 years. (See Table 54.)
- The average length of law enforcement service for the officers accidentally killed in the line of duty was 9 years. (See Table 55.)
- Of the 45 officers who were accidentally killed, 33 were white, 9 were black, and 1 was Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. Race was not reported for 2 of the officers accidentally killed in 2015. (See Table 59.)
- 41 of the officers who died in 2015 due to accidental line-of-duty incidents were male; 4 were female. (See Table 59.)
Circumstances (See Table 64.)
Of the officers who were accidentally killed in the line of duty in 2015:
- 29 died as a result of automobile accidents.
- 7 were struck by vehicles. Five officers were directing traffic, assisting motorists, etc., and 2 were executing traffic stops, roadblocks, etc.
- 4 officers died in motorcycle accidents.
- 2 were accidentally shot. One died as a result of crossfire, mistaken for subject, or other firearm mishap, and 1 incident occurred during a training session.
- 1 officer died in an aircraft accident.
- 1 officer was killed in a fall.
- 1 officer died in another type of accident.
Assignments (See Table 65.)
- 27 of the on-duty officers accidentally killed in 2015 were alone at the time of the incidents.
- 15 on-duty officers had assistance at the time of their fatal accidents.
- 3 officers were off duty, but acting in an official capacity, at the time of their fatal accidents.
Months, days, and times of incidents
- More officers (6) died from accidental line-of-duty incidents that occurred in January than in any other month in 2015. (See Table 53.)
- More officers were fatally injured in accidents on Mondays in 2015 with 12 officers accidentally killed. (See Table 50.)
- 17 officers were killed as a result of accidents occurring between 12:01 a.m. and noon. (See Table 49.)
- 27 officers were fatally injured in accidents that occurred between 12:01 p.m. and midnight. (See Table 49.)
- The time of incident was not reported for 1 officer who was accidentally killed in 2015. (See Table 49.)
Information about officers accidentally killed can be found in Tables 47-69.