Officers
Accidentally Killed
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This page provides information regarding accidental line-of-duty deaths of duly sworn city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement officers, who met the same criteria as officers feloniously killed.
Overview
- 66 law enforcement officers died as the result of accidents that occurred in the line of duty.
- 61 law enforcement agencies in 29 states and Puerto Rico reported that officers from their jurisdictions died as the result of accidents.
- Most of the officers (24) accidentally killed in 2006 were employed by city police departments.
More information about these topics (including annual totals from 1997 to 2006) is provided in Tables 46, 47, 57, and 62.
Victim Profile
- 36 years old—the average age of officers accidentally killed in 2006.
- 10 years—the average length of law enforcement service.
- 64 of the officers accidentally killed were male.
- 59 of the officers accidentally killed were white, 4 were black, and 3 were Asian/Pacific Islander.
More information about these topics is provided in Tables 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, and 56.
Circumstances
- 38 officers died in 2006 as a result of automobile accidents.
- 13 officers were struck and killed by vehicles; 9 of these victim officers were directing traffic/assisting motorists, etc., and 4 were performing traffic stops, instituting roadblocks, etc.
- 8 officers died of injuries sustained in motorcycle accidents.
- 4 officers died as a result of accidental shootings (crossfires, training sessions, cleaning mishaps, etc.)
More information about this topic (including a complete breakdown of the types of circumstances in which officers accidentally died) is provided in Tables 59, 60, 61, and 62.
Regional and outlying area breakdowns
Of the 66 officers who were accidentally killed in the line of duty in 2006:
- 26 officers were employed by law enforcement agencies in the South.
- 20 officers were employed by agencies in the West.
- 14 officers were employed by agencies in the Midwest.
- 5 officers were employed by agencies in the Northeast.
- 1 officer was employed by an agency in Puerto Rico.
More information about this topic (including annual totals from 1997 to 2006) is provided in Table 46.
Months, days, and times of incidents
Month
- In 2006, the greatest number of deaths resulting from accidents (8 in each month) occurred in the months of August and November.
- The fewest officer deaths (3) resulting from accidents occurred in June.
Day
- More officers (14) were involved in fatal accidents that occurred on Friday than on any other day of the week.
- The fewest accidents resulting in officer fatalities (4) occurred on Monday.
Time
- More officers (40) were fatally injured in accidents that occurred between the hours of 12:01 p.m. and midnight .
- 26 officers lost their lives from accidents that happened between the hours of 12:01 a.m. and noon .
More information about these topics (including annual totals from 1997 to 2006) is provided in Tables 48, 49, and 50.
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