Page 73 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Fall 2017

Figure 2 Tactical officer deaths due to felonious assault per state, Figure 3 Anatomic location of fatal entry wound.
1996–2014.

Table 1 Victim-Officer Tactical Unit Assignment During Fatal
Felonious Assault
Assignment Percentage high-risk warrants, management of barricaded-subject inci-
dents, and hostage-rescue interventions. Although specialized
SWAT 47.4 training and equipment mitigates some of the risk involved in
Fugitive Task Force 15.8 undertaking these operations, 57 deaths (mean, 2.9 deaths an-
Narcotics Task Force 17.5 nually) occurred in 26 states during the study period (Figures
Other 19.2 1 and 2), accounting for 5.6% of total law enforcement deaths
SWAT, Special Weapons and Tactics. due to felonious assault. No significant differences were noted
in age at time of death for tactical officers compared with all
Table 2 Type of Tactical Incident Resulting in Fatal Felonious decedent officers. However, tactical officers had more law en-
Assault and Reported Percentage of National Activations forcement experience than other officers, likely reflecting se-
Officer Fatalities, National Activation, lection criteria for tactical unit assignment.
Type of Incident % %*
High-risk warrant service 63.2 64.22 The most common deployment resulting in officer fatality was
Barricaded subject 17.5 11.41 high-risk warrant service, accounting for 63.2% of all fatalities
Downed officer rescue 1.8 0.02 (Table 2). However, in a national study on tactical team deploy-
Hostage rescue 7.0 0.26 ments, high-risk warrant service was also the most common rea-
Other 10.5 24.09 son for team deployment, accounting for 64.2% of all tactical
5
*Data derived from Table 21 of the International Association of team operations. As such, the high number of fatalities noted
Chiefs of Police and National Tactical Officers Association study on during such operations may simply reflect that such mission
national Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT). 5 types are common, rather than reflecting a higher risk than other
deployments. Given that such operations are the most common
[49.1%]; Figure 3). Chest trauma accounted for 14 deaths; of encountered by tactical units and the leading cause of fatalities
these, 10 officers (71.4%) sustained an injury wound via the among tactical operations, there would appear to be an oppor-
ballistic vest armhole. Three of the four (75%) fatal injuries tunity for improved training in the response to such events. For
involving the upper back also resulted from body cavity pen- example, the first officer(s) to make entry appeared to be at high-
etration through the ballistic vest armhole. est risk of dying, accounting for 59.6% of all officer deaths.

The provision or nature of self-aid, buddy aid, tactical EMS care, Although high-risk warrant service is the most common type
or conventional EMS care was rarely documented in LEOKA of deployment, and the leading cause of officer fatality in this
narratives. Where recorded, 52.0% of officers died within the study, significant differences were noted between frequency and
first hour of injury. A total of 35 officers were specifically noted officer fatality for other types of tactical operations (p < .001;
to transported to a hospital, and 22 of these were noted to suc- Table 2). Downed-officer rescue was associated with a more
cumb to their injuries upon arrival or shortly thereafter. than 100-fold increase in tactical officer fatality compared with
frequency of event, and hostage rescue was associated with a
28-fold increase. Although specific aspects of operational
Discussion
planning and execution cannot be fully understood from the
Law enforcement is an inherently dangerous profession, with LEOKA case summaries, the inherent risks of these events (i.e.,
14
123 occupational fatalities occurring during 2015. In con- very low likelihood, immediacy of action, active threat) suggest
trast with many other high-risk occupations, a consistently another opportunity for specific training evolutions.
high proportion of law enforcement deaths are due to feloni-
ous assault during the course of duties. During the study pe- The most common weapon implicated in tactical officer deaths
15
riod, felonious assaults resulted in the deaths of 1,012 officers, was a handgun (54.4%), although high-velocity assault rifles
representing 53.3 deaths per year. were responsible in 24.6% of cases. Although the ballistic ar-
mor typically worn by tactical operators would be defeated
Law enforcement tactical units are specifically tasked with by the latter, appropriately selected armor should be able to
the resolution of high-threat operations, including service of mitigate threats by the former. Most victim officers (49.1%)

Fatalities Among Police Officers During Tactical Incidents | 71