Officers Accidentally Killed

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The following information concerns law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2017 as a result of accidental incidents. The law enforcement officers included in this report met certain criteria, such as, they had full arrest powers and they ordinarily wore/carried a badge and a firearm.

Overview

• In 2017, 47 law enforcement officers died as the result of accidents that occurred in the line of duty. (See Table 48.)

• Accidental line-of-duty deaths of law enforcement officers occurred in 26 states. (See Table 48.)

• By region, 27 officers who were accidentally killed were employed by agencies in the South, 9 by agencies in the Midwest, 6 by agencies in the West, and 5 by agencies in the Northeast. (See Table 48.)

• Of the officers accidentally killed, 17 were employed by city police departments, 17 were employed by county agencies, and 13 were employed by state agencies. (See Table 49.)

Victim profile

• The average age of the officers who were accidentally killed in 2017 was 40 years. (See Table 55.)

• The average length of law enforcement service for the officers accidentally killed in the line of duty was 12 years. (See Table 56.)

• Of the 47 officers who were accidentally killed, 41 were White, 3 were Black/African American, 2 were American Indian/Alaska Native, and 1 was Asian. (See Table 60.)

• 45 of the officers who died in 2017 due to accidental line-of-duty incidents were male; 2 were female. (See Table 60.)

Circumstances (See Table 65.)

Of the officers who were accidentally killed in the line of duty in 2017:

• 35 died as a result of motor vehicle crashes. Ten officers were responding to emergencies, 9 were patrolling, 4 were engaging in vehicle pursuits, 3 were performing traffic stops, 3 were responding to nonemergency circumstances, 1 was performing traffic control, and 5 officers died in other types of motor vehicle crashes.

• 6 were pedestrian officers struck by vehicles. Two officers were assisting or investigating vehicle crashes, 1 was assisting a motorist, and 1 was deploying or providing equipment. Two officers were struck by vehicles in other situations.

• 3 officers drowned. Two were participating in training exercises, and 1 officer was patrolling.

• 2 officers died in an aircraft accident.

• 1 officer died in another type of accident.

Assignments (See Table 66.)

• 27 of the on-duty officers accidentally killed in 2017 were alone at the time of the incidents.

• 17 on-duty officers had assistance at the time of their fatal accidents.

• 3 officers were off duty but acting in official capacities at the time of the fatal accidents.

Months, days, and times of incidents

• More officers (18) died from accidental line-of-duty incidents that occurred in January, February, and August than in any other months in 2017. Six officers died in each of these months. (See Table 54.)

• More officers were fatally injured in accidents on Tuesdays in 2017, with 10 officers accidentally killed. (See Table 51.)

• 24 officers were killed as a result of accidents occurring between 12:01 a.m. and noon. (See Table 50.)

• 22 officers were fatally injured in accidents that occurred between 12:01 p.m. and midnight. (See Table 50.)

• The time of incident was not reported for 1 officer who was accidentally killed in 2017. (See Table 50.)

Information about officers accidentally killed may be found in Tables 48-70.