Page 71 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Fall 2017

A Descriptive Analysis of Occupational Fatalities
Due to Felonious Assault Among U.S. Law Enforcement Officers
During Tactical Incidents, 1996–2014

Moriah S. Thompson, MD ; Tyler M. Hartman, MD ; Matthew D. Sztajnkrycer, MD, PhD *
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1
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ABSTRACT
Introduction: Little is known about occupational fatalities to a series of sniper incidents targeting both civilians and law
among tactical officers. A greater understanding of such injuries enforcement. Initially, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT)
1,2
is needed to improve officer safety. The purpose of this study teams predominantly operated in large urban areas. However,
was to provide a descriptive analysis of line-of-duty deaths sec- during the 1980s and 1990s, the number of teams increased
ondary to felonious assault during tactical incidents. Methods: dramatically, with the largest increases occurring among small
Retrospective analysis was performed of open-source de-identi- and medium-sized communities. By 1997, more than 80%
3,4
fied Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting of communities with populations between 25,000 and 50,000,
Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) data and 90% of communities with populations of 50,000 or more
inclusive of the years 1996–2014. Officers were included if the had law enforcement agencies with SWAT teams. A 2014 na-
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fatal injury occurred during operations by a Special Weapons tional study by the National Tactical Officers Association and
and Tactics (SWAT) team, fugitive task force, narcotics task the International Association of Chiefs of Police revealed that
force, or if the LEOKA narrative described the event as a tacti- 91.2% of reporting agencies either operated a SWAT team or
cal situation. Results: Of 1,012 officer deaths during the study participated in a multiagency unit. Between 1980 and 2000,
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period, 57 (5.6%) involved tactical officers. On average (± the number of law enforcement tactical operations increased
standard deviation), victim officers were 37.3 ± 7.8 years of age 1,400%. 6
at the time of death, with 11.7 ± 6.6 years of law enforcement
experience. High-risk warrant service accounted for 63.2% The purpose of tactical units is to manage high-risk operations
of fatalities. A single officer was killed in 91.2% of incidents; that exceed the capabilities of regular uniformed police, includ-
49.1% of cases involved injuries to other officers. The majority ing high-risk warrant service, barricaded suspects, and hostage
of officers (59.6%) killed were the first officer(s) to enter the rescues, through a systematic approach emphasizing the prior-
scene. The most commonly identified cause of death was head ity of life. In addition to SWAT teams, modern tactical units
7,8
trauma (n = 28). Chest trauma accounted for 14 deaths; 10 include specifically designated teams designed for narcotics in-
(71.4%) sustained an entry wound via the ballistic vest arm- terdiction and apprehension of high-threat fugitives. The high-
hole. Where recorded, 52.0% of officers died within the first risk nature of police tactical operations results in significant
hour of injury. The provision or nature of buddy care, tactical potential for injuries among law enforcement personnel, sus-
emergency medical services (EMS) care, or conventional EMS pects, and bystanders. An analysis of 120 events in Helsinki,
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care was rarely noted. Conclusion: Tactical officer deaths most Finland, revealed patient care was required in 28 events, with
commonly occur during high-risk warrant service, and most individuals declared dead on scene in an additional four cases.
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often involve the first officer(s) to enter a scene, suggesting an A recent analysis of prehospital response to U.S. law enforce-
opportunity for improved operational tactics. The frequency of ment tactical incidents revealed that 133 patients were declared
fatal axillary penetration suggests the opportunity for ballistic dead on scene, and approximately 2,200 required transport. 11
protection redesign. Information is lacking regarding on-scene
care, limiting the ability to determine optimal medical proce- Despite the proliferation of SWAT units in the United States
dures for downed officers during tactical operations. Nearly and the documented risks associated with tactical operations,
50% of victim officers survived more than 1 hour from time little is known about the injuries sustained by tactical officers in
of injury, suggesting opportunities to intervene and potentially the line of duty. This knowledge gap impairs ability to improve
affect outcomes. officer safety and protection. To begin to resolve the identi-
fied knowledge gap, this study aimed to provide a descriptive
Keywords: tactical; Special Weapons and Tactics; SWAT; tac- analysis of line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) secondary to felonious
tical emergency medicine support; felonious assault assault during tactical incidents over a 19-year period.

Methods
Introduction
Study Design
The first modern U.S. law enforcement tactical team was cre- This was a retrospective analysis of open-source data available
ated by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1966, and was through the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the
developed in the context of social unrest and a need to respond years 1996–2014 inclusive. This study was reviewed by the

Portions of this manuscript were presented at the 2016 National Association of EMS Physicians Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
*Correspondence to sztajnkrycer.matthew@mayo.edu
1 Drs Thompson, Hartman, and Sztajnkrycer are with the Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

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