Forty-six police officers were killed by felons in the line of duty last year.[1] That was down from 66 the year before but up from 41 in 2015.
An additional 47 officers were killed accidentally in the line of duty during 2017.
According to Statista.com, "Their average age was 38, with an average tenure of 11 years in law enforcement. 43 of the officers killed by felons were men while three were women."
Since 2007, the number of officers killed by felons ranged from a low of 41 in 2008 to a high of 72 in 2011.
Footnotes:
- Statista, "U.S. Experienced Fall In Police Deaths Last Year," May 11, 2018
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.