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Weapons used to assault police

Today’s analysis involves weapons used in felony murder of LEOs.  It includes both type of firearm and caliber used.  First, let’s take a look at the preferred weapon of the criminal who assault LEOs.  Of the 57 LEOs killed in 2007, 55 were killed with firearms and of those 38 were killed with handguns.  Here’s the high-level breakdown of weapons used in 2007:

  • Total LEOs Feloniously Killed – 57
  • Total Firearms – 55 (96%)
  • Handgun – 38 (67%)
  • Rifle – 8 (14%)
  • Shotgun – 8 (14%)
  • Type Firearm not Reported – 1 (2%)
  • Other weapon (vehicle) – 2 (4 %)

And here’s the numbers from the last ten years (1998-2007):

  • Total LEOs Feloniously Killed – 549
  • Total Firearms - 508 (93%)
  • Handgun - 368 (67%)
  • Rifle - 101 (18%)
  • Shotgun - 38 (7%)
  • Other weapon (Vehicle) - 33 (6 %)
  • Other weapon (Knife) – 4 (<1%)
  • Other weapon (Bomb) – 1 (<1%)
  • Other weapon (Blunt object) – 2 (<1%)

What the data shows conclusively is that firearms in general and handguns specifically represent the greatest risk of death to LEOs.  Not exactly breaking news, but it helps paint a picture of the threat to LEOs.  Digging a little deeper, although with questionable significance, the following is a breakdown of the caliber used in felony assaults on LEOs in 2007 (ten year numbers in paretheses):

LEOs killed with handguns – 38 (368)

  • .22 caliber – 3 (20)
  • .22 magnum – 1 (1)
  • .25 caliber – 4 (11)
  • .32 caliber – 2 (8)
  • .357 caliber – 0 (19)
  • .357 magnum – 1 (11)
  • .38 caliber -5 (41)
  • .380 caliber – 2 (31)
  • .40 caliber – 2 (57)
  • .41 magnum -0 (1)
  • .44 caliber – 0 (2)
  • .44 magnum – 0 (6)
  • .45 caliber – 5 (42)
  • .50 caliber – 0 (2)
  • 7.62×25 mm – 0 (1)
  • 9mm – 10 (102)
  • Handgun caliber not reported – 3 (9)

LEOs killed with rifles – 8 (101)

  • .22 caliber – 0 (3)
  • .223 caliber – 2 (18)
  • .25-06 caliber – 0 (2)
  • .270 caliber - 0 (2)
  • .30 caliber – 0 (8)
  • .30-06 caliber – 3 (6)
  • .30-30 caliber – 0 (5)
  • .300 caliber – 0 (1)
  • .308 caliber – 1 (1)
  • .44 caliber – 0 (1)
  • 5.56 mm – 0 (1)
  • 7mm – 0 (3)
  • 7.62×39 mm – 2 (45)
  • 7.62x54R mm – 0 (1)
  • Rifle caliber not reported – 0 (4)

LEOs killed with shotguns – 8 (38)

  • 12 Gauge – 7 (34)
  • 16 Gauge – 0 (1)
  • 20 Gauge – 1 (2)
  • Shotgun caliber not reported – 0 (1)

In terms of training or mindset, there is little to takeaway from this data.  What’s worth noting is that the handgun caliber used most often is the 9mm, and the rifle caliber used most often is the 7.62×39 mm.  It seems that even criminals understand the utility of these military calibers.

Due to the lack of substantive conclusions from today’s work, lets take this opportunity to review the past two weeks of postings.  Law Enforcement Officers are in the greatest risk on Thursday through Saturday nights (50% of killings occurred on these days), particularly between 6pm and 2am (49% occurred during this timeframe).  Arrests and ambush situations are easily the most dangerous tasks for LEOs (56% occurred conducting these activities).  Officers with 1-5 years of experience account for 30% of officers killed, and officers with 6-10 years of experience likewise accounting for 30%.  The average age for LEOs killed was 37 and the average amount of experience was 10 years.  Most officers killed (61%) had another officer on-scene to assist.

In terms of training LEOs should focus on no-light and low-light tactics, arrest procedures should be modified / updated, refresher training should be conducted for “experienced” officers, and tactics throughout the department should be standardized to allow assisting officers to more fully protect arresting officers.

Jedburgh Corp offers a wide range of courses specifically designed to leverage this data, and bring Law Enforcement Training to the next level.  Contact us at info@Jedburgh-USA.com to provide feedback on the blog, or discuss your training needs.  Also, feel free to post your comments.

 

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