Foreword.

Predict where and how a tragedy is likely to happen and then use that knowledge to prevent it--that's a good strategy. It's also a reason to study the narratives in Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA). These brief word pictures sketch the essential facts-the who, what, when, where, and how--about situations that resulted in the death of responding officers. LEOKA also provides tabular data about felonious deaths, accidental deaths, and assaults on officers. To the extent that an accrual of such data can yield patterns, the data can help anticipate, and thereby potentially prevent, circumstances that lead to victimization of law enforcement officers. The data in LEOKA contribute to training programs and the development of tactics that keep officers safe when they are doing their jobs.

The lessons to be learned from LEOKA are a gift from and tribute to the victim officers. They offer a proactive way to learn from history. For example, two of the incidents described in the following pages cite the use of tasers. Although officers died in both scenarios, in one, the tazer was deployed successfully; in the other, it missed the target. Why? Instructors, students, and crime analysts will study these incidents carefully, reading and rereading the narratives to try to determine the answers to this and other questions.

The tables in LEOKA provide many ways to examine the data. Consider the effectiveness of body armor. In 2004, of the 57 officers who were feloniously killed, 32 were wearing body armor. Did bullets penetrate or circumvent the armor? Table 38 helps answer this question by listing statistics regarding points of entry. LEOKA 2004 has 79 tables, including 11 new tables that give readers more avenues of insight than in previous editions.

Information about situations wherein officers, while performing their duties, become victims themselves comes mainly from law enforcement agencies that participate in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. The Program, as mandated by Congress in 1930, is managed by the FBI. In 2004, a total of 10,459 local, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies contributed data about circumstances that resulted in 59,373 assaults on the responding officers. Other sources of information about officers' deaths are noted in Section I, under Methodology.

Agencies that submit data for LEOKA contribute to a shared understanding of the scope and nature of crimes wherein the responding law enforcement officers become victims. As agency participation in the UCR Program and LEOKA data-gathering efforts increases, the LEOKA information database will grow and allow for more accurate analysis of officer victimization nationwide. For more information about the UCR Program and the FBI's role in managing it, visit the Web site www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm.