Table 28
Law Enforcement Officers Feloniously Killed
Type of Weapon, 2008–2017
| Type of weapon | Total | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of victim officers | 496 | 41 | 48 | 55 | 72 | 49 | 27 | 51 | 41 | 66 | 46 |
| Total firearms | 455 | 35 | 45 | 54 | 63 | 44 | 26 | 46 | 38 | 62 | 42 |
| Handgun | 323 | 25 | 28 | 38 | 49 | 34 | 18 | 33 | 29 | 37 | 32 |
| Rifle | 104 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 23 | 9 |
| Shotgun | 25 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Multiple firearms used by offender(s), unable to determine which caused fatal injury1 | 2 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Type of firearm not reported | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Knife or other cutting instrument2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Knife2 | 3 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Other cutting instrument2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bomb | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blunt instrument | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle | 31 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of victim officers who had prior knowledge that a weapon might be involved in the incident | 161 | 12 | 21 | 20 | 26 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 17 | 25 | 11 |
- 1Beginning in 2011, a new option was added: "Multiple firearms used by offender(s), unable to determine which caused fatal injury."
- 2For 2008, 2009, and 2010, the type of weapon categories "Knife" and "Other cutting instrument" were combined.
