Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home LEOKA 2015 Officers Accidentally Killed

Officers Accidentally Killed

Download Printable Document

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.