FBI lost over 100 agents last year, more than half were killed in the line of duty
Statistics released by the FBI show that 66 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty during last year. The number is higher than in 2015 and offenders used firearms in 62 of the total felonious deaths.
FBI agents working to uphold the law were killed in 2016 in a series of events that saw the number of law enforcement officers deaths rise by 61% compared to 2015. According to the agency’s preliminary statistics, offenders used firearms in 62 of the 66 felonious deaths, including 37 incidents with handguns, 24 incidents with rifles, and one incident with a shotgun. Four victim officers were killed with vehicles used as weapons.
The FBI has published a list of the circumstances in which the agents were fatally wounded: 17 were ambushed (entrapment/premeditation); 13 were answering disturbance calls (seven were domestic disturbance calls); nine were investigating suspicious persons/circumstances; six were engaged in tactical situations; five were performing investigative activities; four were conducting traffic pursuits/stops; three were investigating drug-related matters; three were victims of unprovoked attacks; one was answering a robbery in progress call or pursuing a robbery suspect(s); one was answering a burglary in progress call or pursuing a burglary suspect(s); four were attempting other arrests.
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According to the agency, 50 were confirmed to be wearing body armour at the times of the incidents, while 14 of the total fired their service weapons.
By region, 30 officers died as a result of criminal acts that occurred in the South, 17 officers in the West, 13 officers in the Midwest, four in the Northeast, and two in Puerto Rico.
Also last year, an additional 52 officers were killed in line-of-duty accidents, which are officer deaths that were found not to be willful and intentional.
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