FBI publishes stats on law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty during 2022

Earlier today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation out of Washington D.C. released the statistics regarding law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty during calendar year 2022.

According to the numbers reported to the FBI by March 1, 2023, 118 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents in 2022. Of these, 60 officers died as a result of felonious acts, and 58 officers died in accidents. Comprehensive data tables about these incidents and brief narratives describing the fatal attacks were released on May 8 in the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) portion of the FBI’s Law Enforcement Data Explorer (a subset of the Crime Data Explorer).

Felonious Deaths:

Sixty officers were feloniously killed in 2022, a decrease of 17.8% when compared to the 73 officers who were killed as a result of criminal acts in 2021. The 60 felonious deaths occurred in 28 states and the District of Columbia.

The five- and 10-year comparisons show an increase of three felonious deaths when compared with the 2018 figure (57 officers) and an increase of 33 deaths when compared with 2013 data (27 officers).

Officer Profiles: The average age of the officers who were feloniously killed was 39 years old. The victim officers had served in law enforcement for an average of seven years at the time of the fatal incidents.

Circumstances Encountered by Victim Officer Upon Arrival at Scene of Incident:

Of the 60 officers feloniously killed:

Six officers were killed in unprovoked attacks.
12 officers died as a result of investigative/enforcement activities.
12 officers were ambushed (entrapment/premeditation).
Four officers encountered/assisted an emotionally disturbed person.
Four officers were involved in pursuits.
Six officers responded to disorders/disturbances.
Six officers were involved in tactical situations.
One officer was involved in arrest situation.
Three officers responded to crimes in progress.
Three officers were assisting other law enforcement officers.
Two were serving/attempting to serve a court order (eviction notice, subpoena, etc.).
One officer was providing/deploying equipment (flares, traffic cones, etc.).

Weapons: Offenders used firearms to kill 49 of the 60 victim officers. Three officers were killed with vehicles used as weapons. Eight officers were killed by the offender’s use of personal weapons (hand, fists, feet, etc.).

Suspects: Law enforcement agencies identified 51 alleged assailants in connection with the felonious line-of-duty deaths.

10 of the assailants had prior criminal arrests.
Two of the offenders were under judicial supervision at the times of the felonious incidents.

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Accidental Deaths:

Fifty-eight law enforcement officers were killed accidentally while performing their duties in 2022, an increase of 2 when compared with the 56 officers accidentally killed in 2021. The majority (35 officers) were killed in motor vehicle crashes.

Officer Profile: The average age of officers who were accidentally killed was 39 years old; the average number of years the victim officers had served in law enforcement was 11.

Circumstances: The 58 officers accidentally killed died in a variety of scenarios:

35 died as a result of motor vehicle crashes.
13 were pedestrian officers struck by vehicles.
Six officers were in an aircraft crash.
Two officers were killed in a fall.
Two died as a result of a firearm-related incident.

Use of seatbelts: Of the 31 officers killed in motor vehicle crashes (not including ATVs and motorcycles), six were wearing seatbelts. Data about seatbelt usage was not reported for 25 of the officers.

Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, Part 1, 2022:

Release schedule. The May 8 release provides three categories of data. These categories include data and statistics concerning officers feloniously and accidentally killed, and statistics about federal officers killed and/or assaulted. The remaining portions of the information, which present data reported to the FBI concerning law enforcement officers assaulted in the line of duty in 2022, will be released in the fall.

Another study regarding officers being killed in the line of duty was undertaken by The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund that shows 64 police officers were killed by gunfire in 2022 – with eleven officers killed in ambush attacks. For more on that report, see the video accompanying this article.