Page:Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2002.djvu/63

 Section I — Law Enforcement Officers Accidentally Killed

Methodology

This section contains data regarding accidental deaths of duly sworn local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who met the same criteria as the officers who were feloniously killed. The officers were working in an official capacity, had full arrest powers, were wearing a badge (ordinarily), carried a firearm (ordinarily), and were paid from governmental funds set aside specifically for payment of sworn law enforcement representatives.

Overview

According to data reported by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, 77 law enforcement officers were accidentally killed while acting in official capacities in 2002. These officers' deaths occurred in 32 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. City police departments employed 29 of the victim officers; county police and sheriff's offices employed 24 officers; state agencies employed 14 of the officers; federal agencies employed 8; and Puerto Rico employed 2 of the victim officers. (See Table 53.) Seventy-three separate incidents, including one that occurred in 1999 and another that occurred in 2001, claimed the lives of the 77 officers. The 77 officers killed in accidents in 2002 was one fewer than the 78 accidental deaths reported in 2001. A comparison of the data from 5 and 10 years ago showed that the number of officers killed in 2002 was 5 fewer than the 82 accidentally killed in 1998 and 18 more than the 59 accidentally killed in 1993. (Based on Table 44.)

Victims

The average age of the 77 law enforcement officers accidentally killed in 2002 was 39. According to data provided to the national Program, 5 victim officers were under the age of 25, and 13 officers were from 25 to 30 years of age. Twenty-nine officers were from 31 to 40 years of age, and 29 officers were 40 years of age or older. The age of 1 of the victim officers was not available. By race, 71 of the officers accidentally killed were white, 2 were black, and 2 were American Indian/Alaskan Native. Race was not available for 2 victim officers. (See Tables 48 and 49.)

Collectively, officers accidentally killed in 2002 had an average of 10 years of law enforcement service. Four officers had less than 1 year of service, 20 officers had from 1 to 4 years of service, 21 officers had from 5 to 10 years of experience, and 31 officers had served over 10 years. Law enforcement experience was not reported for 1 victim. (See Table 50.)

Circumstances Surrounding Deaths

The data collected about the circumstances surrounding officers' accidental deaths revealed that the largest number of officers (42) were killed in automobile accidents, 12 were struck by vehicles, 7 died in motorcycle accidents, and 6 were killed in aircraft accidents. Three officers were accidentally shot, and 7 died in other accidental situations. (See Table 53.)

In the 10-year period, 1993 through 2002, 55.9 percent of the victim officers were killed in automobile accidents and 16.3 percent were struck by vehicles. Additionally, 8.5 percent of the victim officers were involved in aircraft accidents and 7.2 percent were fatally injured in motorcycle accidents. Data also showed that 4.3 percent of the victim officers were accidentally shot, and 7.8 percent of the deaths involved other accidental situations. (Based on Table 52.)

Places

Of the 77 accidental deaths reported to the national UCR Program in 2002, 40 occurred in the South. Twenty line-of-duty deaths occurred in the West, 10 in the Midwest, and 5 in the Northeast. Two victim officers were killed in accidents in Puerto Rico.

From 1993 through 2002, law enforcement agencies in the South reported 325 accidental deaths, agencies in the West reported 149, those in the Midwest recorded 124, and agencies in the Northeast reported 63 officer deaths. Law enforcement agencies in the U.S. Territories reported 20 officer deaths during this 10-year period. (See Table 44.)

Times

During 2002, the greatest number of fatal injuries (11) occurred during the hours of 12:01 p.m. to 2 p.m. The fewest number of injuries resulting in officers' accidental deaths (2) in 2002 occurred from 4:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. The time of the incident regarding the accidental death of 1 victim officer was not available. In 2002, 63.2 percent of accidental officer deaths occurred from 12:01 p.m. to midnight. (See Table 45.)

During the past decade, the majority of officers killed in accidents (11.7 percent) were injured during the hours of 10:01 p.m. to midnight. The fewest officers (6.2 percent) were fatally injured within the time frames of 4:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. and 6:01 a.m. to 8 a.m. From 1993 to 2002, 53.1 percent of the incidents in which victim officers were accidentally killed or fatally injured occurred from 12:01 p.m. to midnight. (Based on Table 45.)

A breakdown of the 2002 data by day of the week showed that more officers (23) received fatal injuries due to accidental situations on Wednesday than on any other day of week. The fewest officers, 5, were injured on