Indiana, Other Law Enforcement Officers Killed, Assaulted in Line of Duty: FBI Report

The FBI has collected and released recent statistics for law enforcement officers killed and assaulted in the line of duty during 2016. According to the FBI, compiled information shows 118 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents, 66 of which were killed from criminal "felonious" actions, and 52 who were killed in accidents. For 2017, Indiana has already seen one officer killed in the line of duty, and another recently killed as a result of a car accident.

Southport Police Department Lieutenant Aaron Allan was shot several times and killed by 28-year-old Jason Brown July 27, 2017 while responding to a crash involving Brown at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Maynard Drive.

Indianapolis Metro Police Department Deputy Chief James Waters passed away just hours after Lt. Allan died, following a car accident Sunday, July 23 2017, in Hendricks County.

In March 2016 Deputy Sheriff Karl Koontz died from gunshot wound injuries hours after he was shot as he and other Howard County Sheriffs Department deputies were serving arrest and search warrants at a Russiaville mobile home in connection to a narcotics case. The group entered the home after receiving zero response from inside, and that's when someone shot Koontz and another sheriff's sergeant. That sergeant survived.

The FBI also reports more than 57,000 officers were victims of line-of-duty assaults.

According to statistics collected by the FBI, these statistics are broken down even further:

Felonious Death details:

• The 66 felonious deaths occurred in 29 states and in Puerto Rico; 25 more deaths than 2015.
• 30 deaths occurred in the South.
• Average age of officers who were killed by these acts was 40 years old.
• 64 males, two females.
• 61 white, four black, one Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander.
• 17 were ambushed, 13 were answering disturbance calls, nine were investigating suspicious people or circumstances, as these are just a number of the cases.
• 62 of the 66 were killed by firearms, and the remaining four were killed by vehicles used as weapons.

Suspects:

• 59 have been identified
• 45 if them had prior criminal arrests
• 14 had been under judicial supervision

Accidental Deaths:

• 26 of the 52 accidentally killed in the line of duty were killed in automobile accidents, 12 were hit by vehicles, seven were killed in motorcycle accidents, and other different accidental results of death.
• Seven more accidental deaths than 2015
• Average age of these officers who were accidentally killed was 38 years old.
• 50 male, two female
• 40 white, nine black, race not reported for other three
• 24 of these occurred in the South.

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Assaults:

• 28.9 percent of the 57,180 officers assaulted while on duty were injured.
• 32.2 percent were assaulted while responding to disturbance calls.
• Assailants used body parts as weapons in 78 percent of these incidents, and dangerous types of weapons other than firearms, knives or cutting instruments were used in 16 percent of these incidents.

More information: ucr.fbi.gov, fbi.gov

Photo credit: Shutterstock