Twenty-seven law enforcement officers died as a result of felonious acts last year, a sharp drop from the 49 killed in 2012, the FBI said today. Overall, 76 officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents in 2013. The 27 felonious deaths occurred in 16 states. Five- and 10-year comparisons show a decrease of 21 felonious deaths compared with the 2009 figure (48 officers) and a decrease of 30 deaths compared with 2004 data (57 officers).
Some 49,851 officers were victims of line-of-duty assaults, down from 52,901 the previous year. Of last year’s officers feloniously killed, six deaths occurred in arrest situations, five were investigating suspicious persons or circumstances, five were ambushed, four were involved in tactical situations, four were answering disturbance calls, and two were conducting traffic pursuits/stops. One was conducting an investigative activity, such as surveillance, a search, or an interview. Offenders used firearms to kill 26 of the 27 victim officers.