Law Enforcement Officers 

Shot in the Line of Duty 

2022 Year-End Summary 

May 2023 
This report is compiled from publicly available information using media 

monitoring software and general research. It contains data on law enforcement 

officers shot in the line of duty, both fatally and nonfatally, for the express 

purpose of better understanding the nature and frequency of incidents that 

could give rise to the issuance of a Blue Alert. Care should be considered when 

comparing these results to those of other entities that collect similar data. The 

opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) or contributor(s) and do 

not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

The COPS Office acknowledges the contributions of the National FOP's staff to 

this report, including National President Patrick Yoes, Executive Director Jim 

Pasco, Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson and Legislative Liaison Mark 

McDonald. 

Recommended citation: 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. 2023. Law Enforcement Officers 

Shot in the Line of Duty: 2022 Year-End Summary. Washington, DC: Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services. 

Published 2023 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2022 - LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SHOT IN THE LINE OF DUTY 

NATIONAL BLUE ALERT NETWORK 

In 2015, Congress passed the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act, named in honor of two 

New York City police officers killed in an ambush attack on December 20, 2014. The act directs the U.S. 

Department of Justice to establish a voluntary nationwide system to promote the use of early warnings of 

threats against law enforcement officers and to aid in the apprehension of suspects who have killed or seriously 

injured an officer. In 2016, the COPS Office was given the honor of implementing the act and established the 

National Blue Alert Network. 

The National Blue Alert Network seeks to encourage, enhance, and integrate Blue Alert plans throughout the 

United States. Blue Alerts provide for rapid dissemination of information to law enforcement agencies, media, 

and the public to aid in the apprehension of offenders who have killed, seriously injured, or pose an imminent 

and credible threat to law enforcement. Blue Alerts can be transmitted via wireless devices and through the 

Emergency Alert System (EAS) in the same manner as AMBER Alerts. 

TRACKING OFFICER SHOOTINGS 

This report was compiled by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) in partnership 

with the National Fraternal Order of Police using media monitoring software and general research to analyze 

publicly available information. It contains data on law enforcement officers shot in the line of duty, both fatally 

and nonfatally, for the express purpose of better understanding the nature and frequency of incidents that 

could give rise to the issuance of a Blue Alert. Care should be taken when comparing these results to those of 

other entities that collect similar data. The opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) or contributor(s) 

and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

2022 SUMMARY DATA 

• A total of 331 law enforcement officers were shot in the line of duty during calendar year 2022 in 267

separate shooting incidents, including 42 incidents where multiple officers were shot.

• A total of 62 law enforcement officers died in 2022 as a result of being shot in the line of duty. Fifty-nine law

enforcement officers died after being shot in 2022; 272 officers survived. In addition, in 2022, three officers

succumbed to complications of gunshots wound that occurred during incidents that took place prior to 2022.1 

• City or municipal law enforcement officers accounted for nearly two-thirds (60.7 percent) of all shooting

incidents in 2022.

• Disturbance calls (49 incidents) and traffic stops (43 incidents) accounted for 35 percent of all shooting

incidents and resulted in 111 officers shot.

• A total of 126 law enforcement officers were shot in 89 separate ambushes. Thirty-two of those officers died.

• At least 34 officers were known to have been protected from gunshots that struck a protective ballistic vest.

• Shootings occurred in 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Texas had the highest number of

officers shot with 29, followed by Arizona with 21 and Georgia with 18.

• February and June saw the highest number of officers shot in 2022 with 37 each, followed by March seeing

34 officers shot. The day of the week that experienced the highest number of officers shot was Thursday,

which saw a total of 72 officers shot in 2022.

1 When the three 2022 deaths resulting from incidents prior to 2022 are included in a specific data point, they will be noted 

with the use of an asterisk (*). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2022 - LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SHOT IN THE LINE OF DUTY 

2022 INCIDENT DATA 

There were 267 incidents in 2022 where law enforcement officers were shot in the line of duty, which is a 1.5 

percent decrease from the total number of incidents in 2021. While the number of officers shot in the line of 

duty in 2022 decreased by 4.3 percent compared to 2021, it was still 6.1 percent greater than in 2020. The 

number of officers who died in 2022 as a result of being shot increased by 31.9 percent compared to 2020 and 

decreased by 3.1 percent compared to 2021. NOTE: Each asterisk (*) represents an officer who was shot in one 

calendar year but succumbed to that gunshot wound in the next. 

2022 totals Change from 2021 

to 2022 2021 totals 2020 totals Change from 2020 to 2021 

Total number of shooting incidents 267 - 1.5 % 271 246 + 8.5 % 

Total number of officers shot 331 - 4.3 % 346 312 + 6.1 % 

Number of officers shot and 

survived 272 - 1.5 % 287 268 + 1.5 % 

Number of officers shot and killed 62*** - 3.1 % 64***** 47*** + 31.9 % 

INCIDENT DATA BY CIRCUMSTANCE 

Disturbance calls and traffic stops accounted for more than a third (35 percent) of all shooting incidents. The 

third–most common circumstance involved activity related to warrant services (13.6 percent). 

Circumstance at Time of Incident 

Each asterisk (*) equals one officer who was shot prior to 2022 but succumbed to that gunshot 

wound in 2022. 

Circumstance Shooting 

incidents 

Officers 

shot 

Number 

survived 

Number 

killed 

Active shooter 4 6 6 0 

Disturbance call 49 63 47 17* 

Prisoner transport 2 2 1 1 

Robbery 8 9 6 3 

Shooting / Shots fired 31 44 39 5 

Other felony 11 15 14 2* 

Suspicious person 27 30 26 5* 

Traffic stop 43 48 40 8 

Warrant service 36 51 41 10 

Theft investigation 14 14 13 1 

Other 42 49 39 10 

267 331 272 62*** 

2 

4 

8 

11 

14 

27 

31 

36 

42 

43 

49 

Prisoner Transport 

Active Shooter 

Robbery 

Other Felony 

Theft Investigation 

Suspicious Person 

Shooting / Shots Fired 

Warrant Service 

Other 

Traffic Stop 

Disturbance Call 

Incident Circumstances 

NATURE OF ATTACKS 

Every felonious attack on law enforcement officers, especially by gunfire, is disturbing regardless of the 

circumstances. Officers are always vulnerable to life-threatening attacks and therefore must always be vigilant 

and maintain the highest level of situational awareness. In most cases, officers are able to quickly assess 

situations, recognize threats, and take adequate defensive actions. Tragically, not every threat can be seen or 

mitigated. Perhaps most troubling and worrisome are ambush-style and other calculated attacks on law 

enforcement. These types of attacks are carried out with an element of surprise and intended to deprive officers 

of the ability to defend against the attack, which contributes to a worrisome desensitization to evil acts that 

were once largely considered taboo except by the most depraved. In 2022, 33 percent of shooting incidents 

involved a discernable element of premeditation. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2022 - LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SHOT IN THE LINE OF DUTY 

AMBUSH-STYLE ATTACKS 

There were 89 ambush-style incidents in which officers were shot without any warning or opportunity to defend 

themselves, including several pre-planned assassinations. In many cases, officers were shot before they could 

exit their vehicles after an initial traffic stop or upon arrival at the scene of an incident. In all, 126 law 

enforcement officers were shot in ambush-style attacks, of whom 32 died. 

Of the total number of officers who were ambushed, 25.4 percent died of their injuries, compared to 14.6 

percent of officers shot under other circumstances, making ambush-style attacks more lethal to targeted officers. 

Examples of ambush-style attacks include the following: 

• Deputies responding to a 911 call arrived on the scene only to be met with gunfire. A shooter from inside 

the home managed to hit one deputy. 

• An officer responded to a call for service about a theft; when he arrived and exited his vehicle, he was hit 

with a hail of gunfire and struck multiple times. 

• Officers serving a search warrant at a residence were shot at by a man inside the home after they 

announced themselves. A standoff ensued and gunfire was exchanged over the next few hours, with one 

officer being struck in the vest. 

CALCULATED ATTACKS 

Similar to ambush-style attacks, there were 52 incidents in which offenders acted in a calculated and 

premeditated manner to shoot officers in the performance of their duties. These attacks differ only slightly from 

the more brazen ambush-style attacks in that officers in these situations may have had some reason to 

anticipate a threat. In all, 70 officers were shot in calculated attacks; four those officers were killed. 

Examples of calculated attacks include the following: 

• Officers responding to a call for service involving shots being fired arrived to find the suspect barricaded in 

the home. At one point, the suspect began firing at officers, striking one officer in the chest. 

• Following a 911 call to report a domestic abuse incident, the suspect left the apartment and headed into the 

woods with multiple firearms. After the officers arrived at the scene, they entered the woods with a K9 unit 

to search for the suspect, who initiated a shootout resulting in the death of the suspect. 

• Officers were serving a search warrant. The detectives approached the apartment, identified themselves, 

and asked to enter. They waited an extended period of time with no response before forcing entry into the 

apartment. The suspect was lying in wait inside and opened fire as the detectives entered the apartment. 

Two officers were struck, and one of them was killed. 

BULLET-RESISTANT VESTS 

At least 34 officers were protected from gunshots that struck a protective ballistic vest. The actual number may 

be higher, but this element is not consistently apparent from news reporting. 
 

 

2022 - LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SHOT IN THE LINE OF DUTY 

INCIDENT DATA BY STATE 

State or territory Shooting 

incidents 

Officers 

shot 

Number 

survived 

Number 

killed 

Each asterisk (*) equals one officer who was shot prior to 2022 but succumbed 

to that gunshot wound in 2022.

Alabama 5 6 5 1 

Alaska 3 3 3 0 

Arizona 11 21 18 3 

Arkansas 7 8 5 3 

California 15 16 11 5 

Colorado 7 7 5 2 

Connecticut 3 5 3 2 

Florida 14 14 11 3 

Georgia 16 18 15 3 

Idaho 1 2 2 0 

Illinois 12 14 14 0 

Indiana 5 5 3 2 

Iowa 1 1 1 0 

Kansas 2 4 4 0 

Kentucky 10 16 12 4 

Louisiana 2 2 2 1* 

Maryland 7 8 7 1 

Michigan 6 7 6 2* 

Minnesota 1 1 1 0 

Mississippi 5 6 2 4 

Missouri 8 12 8 4 

Montana 1 1 1 0 

Nevada 2 3 2 1 

New Jersey 1 2 2 0 

New Mexico 4 5 5 0 

New York 8 12 9 3 

North Carolina 13 16 14 2 

Ohio 4 4 3 1 

Oklahoma 8 9 8 1 

Oregon 2 2 2 0 

Pennsylvania 9 14 13 1 

Puerto Rico 2 4 3 1 

South Carolina 3 3 1 2 

Tennessee 13 13 13 0 

Texas 22 29 26 4* 

Utah 1 1 1 0 

Virginia 8 9 7 2 

Washington 11 13 10 3 

Washington, D.C. 3 3 3 0 

West Virginia 3 4 3 1 

Wisconsin 6 6 6 0 

Wyoming 2 2 2 0 

267 331 272 62*** 

Texas 

Arizona 

Georgia 

California 

Kentucky 

29 

21 

18 

16 

16 

16 

14 

14 

14 

13 

13 

12 

12 

North Carolina 

Florida 

Illinois 

Pennsylvania 

Tennessee 

Washington 

Missouri 

New York 

Oklahoma 

Virginia 

9 

9 

8 

8 

7 

7 

6 

6 

6 

5 

5 

5 

4 

Arkansas 

Maryland 

Colorado 

Michigan 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Wisconsin 

Connecticut 

New Mexico 

West Virginia 

Puerto Rico 

Alaska 

Nevada 

Indiana 

Kansas 

Ohio 4 

4 

4 

3 

3 

3 

3 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

1 

South Carolina 

Washington, D.C. 

Idaho 

Louisiana 

New Jersey 

Oregon 

Wyoming 

Iowa 

Minnesota 

Montana 

Utah 

Officers Shot by State or 

Territory 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2022 - LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SHOT IN THE LINE OF DUTY 

INCIDENT LOCATION DENSITY MAP 

Officer shootings were reported in 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Texas had the highest 

number of officers shot with 29, followed by Arizona with 21 and Georgia with 18. There were no reports of 

officers shot in 10 states (Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, 

Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont) nor in the territories of Guam and American Samoa. (No data are 

available for the Northern Mariana Islands or the U.S. Virgin Islands.) The map below depicts shooting incident 

density across the nation. 

INCIDENT DATA BY AGENCY TYPE

Two hundred seven of the officers shot in 2022 were members of city or municipal law enforcement agencies. 

The data and chart below depict incidents based on agency type. NOTE: Some incidents involved multiple types 

of agencies. 

Incidents by Agency Type 

Each asterisk (*) equals one officer who was shot prior to 2022 but 

succumbed to that gunshot wound in 2022. 

Agency 

type 

Shooting 

incidents 

Officers 

shot 

Number 

survived 

Number 

killed 

City 163 207 176 33** 

County 82 97 73 24 

State 10 10 9 1 

Federal 5 7 6 1 

Tribal/other 9 10 8 3* 

269 331 272 62*** 

City 63% 

County 29% 

State 3% 

Federal 2% 

Tribal/Other 3% 

Officers Shot by Agency Type 
2022 - LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SHOT IN THE LINE OF DUTY 

INCIDENT DATA BY MONTH 

February and June saw the highest number of officers shot in 2022 with 37 each, followed by 34 officers shot 

in March. 

Incident Data by Month 

Each asterisk (*) equals one officer who was shot prior to 2022 but 

succumbed to that gunshot wound in 2022. JUN 

FEB 

MAR 

JUL 

OCT 

JAN 

DEC 

AUG 

APR 

NOV 

SEP 

MAY 

37 

37 

34 

32 

30 

30 

29 

24 

22 

20 

18 

18 

30 

33 

40 

48 

53 

55 

72 

SUN 

SAT 

MON 

TUE 

FRI 

WED 

THU 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Month Shooting 

incidents 

Officers 

shot 

Number 

survived 

Number 

killed 

JAN 24 30 25 5 

FEB 26 37 33 5* 

MAR 24 34 26 8 

APR 19 22 21 1 

MAY 16 18 17 2* 

JUN 27 37 24 13 

JUL 28 32 27 5 

AUG 20 24 17 7 

SEP 16 18 15 4* 

OCT 24 30 25 5 

NOV 17 20 19 1 

DEC 26 29 23 6 

267 331 272 62*** 

Number of Officers Shot by Month 

INCIDENT DATA BY DAY OF WEEK 

Thursday was the day of the week that experienced the highest number of officers shot, with 72 officers shot, 

followed by Wednesday (55) and Friday (53). NOTE: The three officers who were shot prior to 2022 but 

succumbed to those gunshot wounds in 2022 were not included in the data below. 

Incident Data by Day of Week 

Day Shooting 

incidents 

Officers 

shot 

Number 

survived 

Number 

killed 

SUN 29 30 23 7 

MON 34 40 33 7 

TUE 37 48 36 12 

WED 46 55 45 10 

THU 52 72 56 16 

FRI 38 53 48 5 

SAT 31 33 31 2 

267 331 272 59 

Number of Officers Shot by Day of Week 
 

 

2022 - LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SHOT IN THE LINE OF DUTY 

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 2022 2021 % Change 

Total Number of Shooting Incidents 24 26 24 19 16 27 28 20 16 24 17 26 267 271 - 1.5% 

Total Number of Officers Shot 30 37 34 22 18 37 32 24 18 30 20 29 331 346 - 4.3% 

Number of Officers Survived 25 33 26 21 17 24 27 17 15 25 19 23 272 287 - 1.5% 

Number of Officers Killed 5 5* 8 1 2* 13 5 7 4* 5 1 6 62*** 64***** - 3.1% 

Each asterisk (*) represents one officer who was shot prior in one year but succumbed to that gunshot wound in a subsequent year. 

267 Shooting Incidents / 331 Officers Shot Officer Shot and Wounded (272) Officer Shot and Killed (62) 

* Assaults on law enforcement occurring on-duty during calendar year 2022 with firearms resulting in an officer being wounded or killed. 

Does not include assaults by means other than firearms due to inconsistent availability of data. Markers represent approximate geographic location.