Federal Officers Killed and Assaulted
This page provides information regarding federal law enforcement officers who were killed or assaulted in the line of duty in 2019 and who met the appropriate criteria.
Overview
In 2019, no federal officers were killed, but a total of 2,136 federal law enforcement officers were assaulted. Of the 2,136 officers who were assaulted, 372 were injured. (See Tables 73 and 74.) By department:
- The U.S. Department of the Interior employed 978 of the officers who were assaulted; 107 of these officers were injured. (See Table 73.)
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employed 733 of the federal officers who were assaulted, and 240 of these officers were injured. (See Table 73.)
- The U.S. Department of Justice employed 369 of the officers who were assaulted; 19 were injured. (See Table 73.)
- The U.S. Department of Defense employed 47 of the officers who were assaulted, and 1 officer was injured. (See Table 73.)
- The U.S. Postal Service employed 5 officers who were assaulted, and 4 of these officers were injured. (See Table 73.)
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture employed 4 officers who were assaulted, and 1 officer was injured. (See Table 73.)
Weapons (See Table 74)
- 1,117 federal officers were assaulted with personal weapons such as hands, fists, or feet, and 240 officers were injured during these assaults.
- 216 federal officers were assaulted with vehicles; of these, 19 officers suffered injuries.
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180 officers were assaulted with firearms, and 20 officers were injured.
- 24 officers were assaulted with blunt instruments resulting in 9 officers being injured.
- 23 officers were assaulted with knives or other cutting instruments resulting in 5 officers suffering injuries.
- 576 officers were reported to have been assaulted with a weapon in the category titled “other” resulting in 79 officers being injured.
Type of activity (See Table 78)
- 1,125 of the federal officers assaulted in 2019 were on patrol or guard duty when they were assaulted.
- 500 officers were assaulted while attempting arrests or serving summonses.
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120 officers were assaulted while maintaining custody of prisoners.
- 60 officers were assaulted while conducting investigations or searches.
- 24 officers were on protection duty at the time of the assaults.
- 23 officers were assaulted while on court duty.
- 14 officers were assigned to office duty when they were assaulted.
- 270 officers were reported to have been assaulted while performing an activity falling under the category titled “other.”
Regional and outlying area breakdowns (See Table 76)
Of the federal law enforcement officers who were assaulted in 2019:
- 1,003 officers were in the West.
- 565 officers were in the South.
- 272 officers were in the Midwest.
- 95 officers were in the Northeast.
- 22 officers were in foreign locations:
- 15 officers were in Okinawa, Japan.
- 4 officers were in Iwakuni, Japan.
- 2 officers were in Mexico.
- 1 officer was in Ecuador.
- 5 officers were in Puerto Rico.
- 4 officers were in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- The National Park Service Rangers did not provide location data for 170 of its victim officers.
Dispositional information
- 1,469 alleged assailants were identified in connection with the 2,136 assaults on federal officers. (See Table 71.)
- Of the 1,469 offenders, dispositional information was reported for 265 of them. (See Table 79.)
- 82 offenders’ cases were pending prosecutive opinion.
- 71 of the offenders were awaiting trial.
- 66 were found guilty.
- 26 offenders’ prosecutions were declined.
- 14 offenders were found not guilty or the charges were dismissed.
- 4 offenders are deceased.
- 2 offenders were fugitives.
Five-year totals
From 2015 through 2019, there were 8,475 federal officers assaulted; 4 of these officers were killed. (See Table 74.)
All 4 of the officers killed were with the U.S. Department of Justice and were employed by the U.S. Marshals Service. One officer was killed in 2015, another in 2016, and 2 officers were killed in 2018. (See Table 73.)