DID YOU KNOW?   Every year, thousands of U.S. law enforcement officers are killed and assaulted with guns.

• Over the ten-year period from 2000 to 2009, criminals killed 490 state and local enforcement officers with a gun (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Table 27).


• Over the ten-year period from 2000 to 2009, criminals assaulted 20,459 state and local law enforcement officers with a gun (FBI, Table 70).


• Over the five-year period from 2005 to 2009, criminals assaulted or killed 501 federal law enforcement officers with guns (FBI, Table 78, 2007).


• From 1990 to 2009, 47 law enforcement officers and security guards were killed by far-right extremists, and guns were used in 80 percent of the murders (National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, 2009).


• From May 2007 through October 2011, concealed handgun permit holders have slain 11 law enforcement officers resulting in criminal charges or the suicide of the shooter. All of the killings were committed with guns. (Rand, p. 2).

DID YOU KNOW? The vast majority of lethal attacks on law enforcement involve guns.

• In the ten-year period from 2000 to 2009, a total of 536 police officers were killed – 91 percent (490) with guns (FBI, Table 70).

• From 1997 to 2006, 81 law enforcement officers were killed when responding to domestic disturbance calls (National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 2007).

DID YOU KNOW? Law enforcement officers are endangered by criminals’ access to military style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

• At least 41 of the 211 law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2001, were killed with assault weapons (Violence Policy Center, 2003).

• Military-style assault weapons are increasingly being used against law enforcement according to anecdotal evidence from police chiefs.  Unfortunately, current restrictions on the release of ATF crime gun trace data make it impossible to know how often these firearms are being used in crimes. (International Association of Chiefs of Police, p. 26).

SOLUTION:  Without stronger, sensible gun laws, thousands upon thousands of people will continue to die and be injured needlessly each year. We make it too easy for dangerous people to obtain dangerous weapons. We should make it harder for convicted felons, the dangerously mentally ill, domestic violence offenders and youth to get the guns in the first place.  We can do this by passing strong, effective laws.

Sources

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2009, Tables 27, 68, 70, 76

International Association of Chiefs of Police, Taking a Stand: Reducing Gun Violence in Our Communities: Report and Recommendations from the IACP Great Lakes Summit on Gun Violence (Washington, DC: 2007)

National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, Press release: Far-Right Attacks on U. S. Law Enforcement and Security Guards, 2009

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Press Release: Domestic Violence Takes a Heavy Toll on the Nation’s Law Enforcement Community, September 8, 2007

Rand, Kristen. Law Enforcement and Private Citizens Killed by Concealed Handgun Permit Holders: An Analysis of News Reports, May 2007 to April 2009. Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2010

Violence Policy Center, Press Release, One in Five Law Enforcement Officers Slain in the Line of Duty Is Killed with an Assault Weapon, New VPC Study Reveals, Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2003