2017 Mid-Year Law Enforcement

Officer Fatalities Report

www.LawMemorial.org/FatalitiesReport Contact: info@nleomf.org

65 Law Enforcement Line-of-Duty Deaths in First Half of 2017

Traffic-related incidents are leading cause of officer fatalities, increasing 24 percent
120

A ccording to preliminary data

compiled by the National Law
Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 100
106

Mid-Year Fatalities: 1977-2017
107
NLEOMF

as of June 30, 2017, 65 federal, state,

and local law enforcement officers
80
have died in the line of duty this
year, increasing 30 percent over the 50 65
officers killed during the same period 60

last year.
Twenty-six officers have been killed
in traffic-related fatalities this year, 40

increasing 24 percent, compared to

21 deaths during the same period last 26
23
year. Firearms-related fatalities were
16
20

the second-leading cause of officer

deaths, with 23 officers killed thus far
in 2017. This represents a 10 percent
increase over the 21 officers killed in
firearm-related incidents during the
same period last year.
Sixteen officers died as a result of
other causes during the reporting
period in 2017, six of which were
job-related ailments where officers
collapsed or suffered a cardiac event.
Three officers died as a result of an
illness contracted during the 9/11
rescue and recovery efforts, two officers
0
Total Officers Killed Firearms-Related
were beaten to death, two officers died
in boating incidents, one officer was
stabbed to death, one officer drowned
and one officer was poisoned.
Single-vehicle crashes is the
leading circumstance of the traffic-
related fatalities with 10 thus far in
2017increasing by 233 percent over
the same period last year. The leading
Traffic-Related Other
circumstances of firearms-related
fatalities were officers responding to
domestic disturbances and conducting
traffic stops.
Sixty-two fallen officers were male
and three were female. Their average
age was 40 years, with 13 years of
service. On average, each officer left
behind two children.

Police Officer Miguel Moreno Trooper Ryan Albin Master Sergeant William
San Antonio (TX) Police Illinois State Police Trampass Bishop
Department EOW: 6/28/2017 Florida Highway Patrol
EOW: 6/30/2017 EOW: 6/17/2017
Trooper Ryan Albin was killed
Police Officer Miguel Moreno in an automobile crash when Master Sergeant William
died as a result of gunshot his patrol car collided with a Bishop was struck and killed by
wounds he received the day commercial vehicle. a vehicle while investigating
before while attempting to a traffic accident as he was
stop two suspicious subjects. outside of his patrol car.

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The data and statistics contained in this report are preliminary and do not represent a final or complete
list of individual officers who will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in 2018.
This report was produced by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
 2017 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Officer Fatalities Report www.LawMemorial.org/FatalitiesReport

Traffic-related Fatalities Circumstances of Traffic-related Fatalities

T raffic-related fatalities were the

leading cause of law enforcement
deaths during the first half of the year.
Automobile crashes Single-vehicle crashes  10 20
There have been 26 traffic-related
incidents in 2017, compared to 21
over the same period last year, a 24
percent increase. Of the 26 traffic- Struck on the side of road 3
related incidents 20 were automobile
crashes involving a collision with
another vehicle or fixed object, three
officers were struck while on the side Motorcycle crashes 3
of the road, and three officers were
killed in motorcycle crashes. NLEOMF
Of the 20 automobile crashes in
the first half of this year, ten were
Average Mid-Year Traffic-related Fatalities by Decade
single-vehicle crashes compared
to 3 at the same time in 2016, 2010s 28
representing a 233 percent increase.
Compared to the average number 2000s 33
of traffic-related fatalities per decade,
2017 ranks below the past 10-year 1990s 29
average (2000-2009). In the prior
decade, nearly 33 officers were killed 1980s 30
on average in the first half of a given
year. Since the 1960s, traffic-related 1970s 27
fatalities have increased, even as
overall law enforcement fatalities 1960s 25
have been decreasing. NLEOMF

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Other Causes of Officer Deaths

D uring the first half of 2017, 16

officers died from job-related
illnesses and other causes
Other Causes of Officer Death at Mid-Year 2016

compared to eight officers who died Job-related illness 6

as a result of other causes during the
first half of 2016. 9/11-related illness (rescue/recovery) 3
In the first half of this year, five of
the eight job-related illnesses were Boating-related incidents 2
reported to be heart attacks. The
other causes were three officers died Beaten to death 2
as a result of illnesses contracted
during the 9/11 rescue and recovery Drowning 1
operations, two died in boating-
related incidents, two were beaten Stabbed to death 1
to death, one officer drowned, one
officer was stabbed to death and one Poisoned 1
NLEOMF
officer was poisoned.

2 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund

2017 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Officer Fatalities Report
Firearms-related Fatalities
F irearms-related fatalities rose
slightly in the first half of 2017.
Twenty three officers were shot and
killed thus far in 2017 compared to
21 during the same period in 2016.
Of the 23 firearms-related cases, five
involved officers responding to a
domestic disturbance or domestic-
related incident.
Four officers were shot and killed
while investigating suspicious persons
or vehicles, three were the result of
officers conducting a traffic stop and
three officers were shot and killed with
their own firearms while transporting
prisoners. Three officers were shot
while conducting investigations, two
were shot while responding to the
report of an armed person and one
officer was killed while serving an
eviction notice. One officer was shot
and killed as he walked into the police killed with a shotgun. The type of
station in an unprovoked ambush.
Three of the 23 cases involved
an ambush-style attack carried out
upon an unsuspecting officer(s).
Handguns were the leading type of
firearm used in fatal shootings of law
Average Mid-Year Firearms-related Fatalities by Decade
2010s
2000s
1990s
1980s
1970s
1960s
0 10
www.LawMemorial.org/FatalitiesReport
Circumstances of Fatal Shootings
Domestic Disturbance 5
Investigating Suspicious persons 4
Traffic Enforcement 4
Handling, transporting, custody of prisoners 3
Investigative Activity (interviews, etc.) 3
Armed Person call 2
Serving Civil Papers 1
Entering Station 1 NLEOMF
enforcement officers in the first half other month. Four officers were shot
2017. Of the 23 officer fatalities, 13 in each of the months of January,
officers were shot and killed with a March, April and June.
handgun. One officer was shot and Firearms-related fatalities peaked
killed with a rifle and one officer was in 1973, with 84 officers shot and
killed that year. Since then, the annual
firearm used in the remaining eight average has decreased from 63 in the
fatalities is still unknown for the first 1970s, to 29 in the 2000s. In 2016, as a
half of 2017. result of a number of unprecedented
Of the 23 firearms-related fatalities ambush-style attacks on law
in the first half of 2017, 6 were shot enforcement officers, the number of
and killed in May, the most of any firearm-related fatalities rose to 65.
NLEOMF
27
29
34
44
63
32
20 30 40 50 60 70
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund 3
2017 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Officer Fatalities Report www.LawMemorial.org/FatalitiesReport

Officer Fatality Data

I n the first half of 2017, five officers Jurisdiction Gender

62 3
from the state of Georgia and five Municipal 27 Federal 3
officers from the state of New York Sheriff 18 Territorial 1
were killed, while California, Florida, State 13 Tribal 3
and Texas each had four officers
killed, and three officers were killed
in Louisiana. Three federal officers, Low Average High
three Tribal officers and one
Age of
territorial officer were also killed in Officer 20 47 64
the line of duty in 2017. Ten states
lost two officers and thirteen states Length of .25 18 37
Service years years years
lost one officer. Twenty-one states and
the District of Columbia did not lose Number of
Children 0 2 6
an officer in the first half of this year.

Deadliest
6
States
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
0
GA, NY CA, FL, TX LA AR, DE, IL, NC, OH, AL, IA, KY, ME, MI,
OK, SC, TN, VA, WI MO, MS, MT, ND,
NM, NV, WA, WV

35

Felonious Deaths vs.

Accidental Fatalities
30

Felonious Accidental

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