An official website of the United States government. Here's how you know
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.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Federal Bureau of Investigation
Home • LEOKA • 2018 • Tables • Table 65

Table 65

Law Enforcement Officers Accidentally Killed

Type of Accident and Activity of Victim Officer at Time of Incident, 2014–20181

Circumstance Total 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Number of victim officers Total 241 45 45 52 48 51
Aircraft crash Total 4 0 1 1 2 0
Drowning Total 9 1 0 2 3 3
Engaging in foot pursuit 0 0 0 0 0 0
Engaging in tactical response 0 0 0 0 0 0
Participating in recovery operation 0 0 0 0 0 0
Participating in rescue operation 0 0 0 0 0 0
Participating in training exercise 3 0 0 1 2 0
Patrolling 3 1 0 0 1 1
Other 3 0 0 1 0 2
Fall Total 3 0 1 1 0 1
Avoiding object/hazardous situation 0 0 0 0 0 0
Engaging in foot pursuit 2 0 1 0 0 1
Engaging in tactical response 0 0 0 0 0 0
Participating in recovery operation 0 0 0 0 0 0
Participating in rescue operation 0 0 0 0 0 0
Participating in training exercise 0 0 0 0 0 0
Patrolling 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 1 0 0 1 0 0
Firearm-related incident Total 9 2 2 3 0 2
Cleaning weapon 0 0 0 0 0 0
Engaging in foot pursuit 0 0 0 0 0 0
Engaging in tactical situation 1 0 0 0 0 1
Non-range training 1 0 1 0 0 0
Patrolling 1 0 0 0 0 1
Performing an arrest 0 0 0 0 0 0
Range training 2 1 1 0 0 0
Tactical training 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 4 1 0 3 0 0
Motor vehicle crash Total 171 34 34 33 36 34
Assisting/investigating vehicle crash 0 0 0 0 0 0
Assisting motorist 0 0 0 0 0 0
Engaging in vehicle pursuit 22 5 5 4 4 4
Escorting funeral or dignitary 5 0 2 1 0 2
Overseeing work zone 0 0 0 0 0 0
Patrolling 48 13 8 9 10 8
Performing traffic control 4 0 1 1 1 1
Performing traffic stop 8 0 1 3 2 2
Providing/deploying equipment 0 0 0 0 0 0
Responding to emergency 44 11 7 7 10 9
Responding to nonemergency 11 1 2 2 3 3
Training 2 0 0 1 0 1
Other 27 4 8 5 6 4
Pedestrian officer struck by vehicle Total 40 6 7 12 6 9
Assisting/investigating vehicle crash 11 1 4 2 2 2
Assisting motorist 5 0 1 1 1 2
Deploying/providing equipment 1 0 0 0 1 0
Overseeing work zone 0 0 0 0 0 0
Patrolling 2 2 0 0 0 0
Performing traffic control 6 2 1 3 0 0
Performing traffic stop 8 1 1 4 0 2
Training 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 7 0 0 2 2 3
Other accidental Total 5 2 0 0 1 2
  • 1Ten years of data for the topics presented in this table are not available at this time. A 10-year table is expected to be available for the publication of 2020 data.