Homicides of american law enforcement officers, 1978–1980

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Abstract
This article examines FBI reports of all felonious line-of-duty deaths of law enforcement officers in the United States from 1978 through 1980. Three hypotheses are generated and tested. These concern: the manner in which officers became involved in the incidents that led to their deaths, the race and duty status of officers killed, and the types of incidents precipitating killings. These tests indicate, first, that the majority of incidents are initiated by officers themselves, rather than by citizens. Second, it is probable that black officers are victimized at a higher rate than white officers, especially while off-duty and by black assailants. Third, the modal type of precipitating incident is “attempting other arrests (general)”, and not, as commonly thought, domestic disputes. Implications of these findings are then discussed.

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