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 2010 Federal Officers Killed and Assaulted

Federal Officers Killed and Assaulted

Download Printable Document

This page provides information regarding federal law enforcement officers who were killed or assaulted in the line of duty in 2010 and who met the appropriate criteria.

Please note that beginning with 2006, the weapon type “threat” is no longer a weapon category. In order for a threat to be included in these data, a weapon must have been present when the threat was made. These types of assaults are reported under the particular weapon with which the offender threatened the victim.

Overview

In 2010, a federal officer, employed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was killed in the line of duty. In addition, 1,885 federal law enforcement officers were assaulted. Of these officers, 351 were injured. By department:

  • The U.S. Capitol Police employed 10 of the officers who were assaulted, and 1 of these officers was injured. 
  • In addition to the officer who was killed in the line of duty, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also employed 1,002 of the federal officers who were assaulted, and 144 of these officers were injured. 
  • The U.S. Department of the Interior employed 650 of the officers who were assaulted, and 130 of these officers were injured. 
  • The U.S. Department of Justice employed 208 of the officers who were assaulted, and 73 of these officers were injured. 
  • The U.S. Department of the Treasury employed 9 of the officers who were assaulted, with 1 officer injured during an attack. 
  • The U.S. Postal Inspection Service employed 6 of the officers who were assaulted in 2010; 2 of these officers were injured. 

More information about this topic is provided in Tables 74, 75, 76, and 77.

See also the summaries of Assaults by Department.

Weapons

  • 387 federal officers were attacked with personal weapons such as hands, fists, or feet, and 117 of these assaults resulted in injuries to the officers. 
  • 86 officers were assaulted with firearms resulting in 1 officer killed and 12 officers injured. 
  • 76 federal officers were assaulted with vehicles, and 18 of these officers suffered injuries. 
  • 17 officers were assaulted with knives or other cutting instruments resulting in no injuries or deaths. 
  • 16 officers were attacked with blunt instruments resulting in 3 officers injured. 
  • 1,304 officers were assaulted with various other types of weapons resulting in 201 officers injured. 

More information about this topic (including a complete breakdown of the types of weapons used to attack federal officers) is provided in Tables 77, 78, 79, and 80.

Type of activity

  • 1,037 of the 1,886 federal officers assaulted in 2010 were on patrol or guard duty when they were assaulted. 
  • 502 officers were assaulted while attempting arrests or serving summonses. 
  • 73 officers were attacked while conducting investigations or searches. 
  • 73 officers were assaulted while maintaining custody of prisoners. 
  • 34 officers were assaulted while on court duty.
  • 13 officers were assigned to office duty when they were assaulted.
  • 12 officers were on protection duty at the time of their attacks. 
  • 142 officers were assigned to other duties when assaulted. 

More information about this topic (including a complete breakdown of the type of activities in which federal officers were attacked) is provided in Table 81.

Regional and outlying area breakdowns

Of the 1,886 federal law enforcement officers who were assaulted in 2010:

  • 1,115 officers were stationed in the West. 
  • 465 officers were stationed in the South. 
  • 243 officers were stationed in the Midwest. 
  • 51 officers were stationed in the Northeast. 
  • 8 officers were stationed in Puerto Rico. 
  • 1 officer was stationed in Canada. 
  • 1 officer was stationed in Guatemala. 
  • 1 officer was stationed in Mexico. 
  • The duty station was not reported for 1 victim officer. 

More information about this topic (including a complete breakdown by state) is provided in Table 79.

Dispositional information

  • 1,148 alleged assailants were identified in connection with the 1,886 assaults on federal officers. 
  • Of the 1,148 offenders, dispositional information was reported for 331 of them. 
  • Of the 331 offenders for whom dispositions were provided, 143 were found guilty. 
  • 79 of the offenders were awaiting trial, and 7 were found not guilty or the charges were dismissed. 
  • 12 offenders remained fugitives at the time of this publication. 

More information about this topic is provided in Tables 74 and 82.

Five-year totals

  • From 2006 through 2010, there were 7,963 federal officers assaulted; 4 of these officers were killed. 
  • Three of the officers who were slain in the 5-year time frame were employed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. One officer was killed in 2008, one in 2009, and another was slain in 2010. The fourth officer was employed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and he was killed in the line of duty in 2008. 

More information about this topic is provided in Tables 76, 77, and 78.