WASHINGTON – According to statistics 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.
Sixty officers were feloniously killed in 2022, a decrease of 17.8 percent when compared to the 73 officers who were killed as a result of criminal acts in 2021. The 60 deaths occurred in 28 states and the District of Columbia. The 10-year comparison shows an increase of 33 deaths when compared with 2013 data (27 officers).
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.
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.).
Offenders used firearms to kill 49 of the 60 victim officers. Three officers were killed with vehicles used as weapons, and eight officers were killed by the offender’s use of personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.). Fifty-one suspects identified 51 suspects in the murders, leaving nine cop-killers unknown. Ten of the 51 had prior criminal arrests and two of the suspects were under judicial supervision at the time they killed the officer.
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. Thirty-five officers were killed in motor vehicle crashes. The average age of the officers who were accidentally killed was 39 years old; the average number of years the victim officers had served in law enforcement was 11.
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.
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.
