U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Special Report
October 2007, NCJ 219534

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States,
2003-2005
By Christopher J. Mumola
BJS Policy Analyst
During the 3-year period from 2003 to 2005, 47 States and
the District of Columbia reported 2,002 arrest-related
deaths to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) Deaths in
Custody Reporting Program (DCRP). The DCRP counts
represent the first national measurement of all types of
deaths that occurred in the process of arrest. The collection
of these counts was mandated by the federal Death in
Custody Reporting Act (Public Law 106-297).
All States were required under the act to submit a record of
any death that occurred “in the process of arrest” as a
condition of receiving federal correctional grants. The DCRP
collection was the first time most States made a comprehensive count of these deaths. California and Texas were
the only States that compiled data on all arrest-related
deaths before the collection began. Three States — Georgia, Maryland, and Montana — never reported counts of
arrest-related deaths to DCRP. Federal agencies were not
required by the act to report these deaths.
BJS worked with States to determine a contact to report
information on arrest-related deaths and to develop a
questionnaire to collect uniform data from all States. The
governor’s crime commission (22 States) was the most
common reporting office, followed by the State attorney
general and the State police (8 States each).
State contacts relied on a wide range of data sources to
complete the DCRP questionnaire. Forty-two of the 47
States that reported data used more than 1 source, and 30
States used at least 3 data sources. The most common
source of information was the law enforcement agency
involved in the death (43 States).
Data sources on arrest-related deaths
Local law enforcement agencies
Media accounts
Coroners/medical examiners
State police/highway patrol
Uniform Crime Report State contacts
Attorneys general/prosecutors
Other sources
Note: See Methodology for more details.

Number of states
43
30
23
19
9
6
7

Arrest-related deaths, by cause of death, 2003-2005
Number of arrest-related deaths
Cause of death
2003-05 2005 2004 2003
All causes
2,002
703
677
622
Homicide —
by law enforcement
1,095
364
365
366
by other persons
11
4
4
3
Intoxication
252
90
81
81
Suicide
234
91
87
56
Accidental injury
140
47
41
52
Illness/natural causes
113
38
49
26
Other/unknown
157
69
50
38

Percent,
2003-05
100%
54.7%
0.5
12.6
11.7
7.0
5.6
7.8

Note: See Methodology for information on missing data by State for
each reporting year.

Homicides by law enforcement officers made up 55% of
all deaths during arrests by State and local agencies
In each year between 2003 and 2005, homicides accounted
for a majority of all reported arrest-related deaths. During
this period, States reported 1,106 arrest-related homicides
which represented 55% of arrest-related deaths from all
causes. Homicides by law enforcement officers accounted
for 1,095 arrest-related deaths, and 11 homicides were
committed by other persons present at the scene.
Homicide was reported four times more often than any other
cause of death. Drug and alcohol intoxication accounted for
13% of all deaths, followed by suicides (12%), accidental
injuries (7%), and illness or natural causes (6%). For 157
deaths (8%) a definitive cause was not reported.
FBI and BJS counts of homicides by law enforcement
were similar in most States
Homicides by law enforcement are the only type of arrestrelated deaths measured by another national statistical program — the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The
SHR and DCRP measures of homicides by law enforcement have one important difference. The SHR program
includes only counts of homicides by law enforcement in
which the use of force was ruled “justifiable.” Deaths due to
unjustified use of lethal force by officers are counted with

other murders. The DCRP counts of homicides by law
enforcement include all deaths that resulted from the use of
lethal force.
In most States, the SHR and DCRP counts of law
enforcement homicides showed small differences. In 33
States, the 2 measures differed by fewer than 10 deaths
over the 3 years. Nine States reported counts that differed
by at least 20 deaths over this period, with 5 States
reporting higher counts to DCRP. California had the largest
measurement variation, reporting 354 homicides by law
enforcement to SHR between 2003 and 2005, but less than
half as many (160) to DCRP. Over the same period, Florida
reported 98 law enforcement homicides to DCRP but did
not report to SHR.

States
California
Florida
Maryland
Ohio
Texas
Michigan
Oregon
New Jersey
Louisiana

Number of law enforcement homicides,
2003-2005
Reporting
DCRP
SHR
difference
160
98
/
48
116
48
36
19
7

354
/
41
11
84
22
13
42
29

194
98
41
37
32
26
23
23
22

Note: See Appendix table 3 for State counts by program.
/Not reported.

In the aggregate, the two programs collected very similar
counts between 2003 and 2005. A total of 1,095 law
enforcement homicides were reported to DCRP, and 1,082
justifiable homicides by police were reported to SHR. Taking
the higher count reported by each State for each year, there
were a total of 1,489 reported law enforcement homicides.
BJS and FBI law enforcement homicides had similar
characteristics
Analysis of the characteristics of the deaths in the two data
collections also revealed similarities. Across both programs
nearly all of the decedents were male, the average age was
33 years old, and over 80% were killed by a handgun.

Characteristics

Law enforcement homicides,
2003-2005
DCRP
SHR

Male

97%

97%

Black*

30%

32%

Mean age

33yrs.

33yrs.

Killed by handgun

84%

85%

*Black Hispanics are excluded from the DCRP percentage, and included in the SHR percentage.

2 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

Arrests for violent crimes were involved in 3 of every 4
law enforcement homicides
Three-quarters of the law enforcement homicides reported
to DCRP involved arrests for a violent crime. Except for suicides (51%), violent offenders were involved in less than
30% of all other causes of death. Public-order offenders
accounted for 8% of homicides, followed by property (4%)
and drug offenders (2%). In 2% of cases, law enforcement
personnel did not intend to charge the person, but took
them into custody for reasons such as medical or mental
health needs. Criminal charges were not reported for 8% of
law enforcement homicides.
Percent of deaths involving arrests for violent crimes
Homicide
by law
enforcement

Suicide

All other
causes
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Note: See appendix table 6 for offense data, by cause of death.

Among all persons killed by law enforcement officers in the
process of arrest, 9% would have been charged with the
murder or attempted murder of a law enforcement officer,
17% would have been arrested for assaulting an officer, and
2% would have been charged with obstruction of police
activity or resisting arrest.
80% of law enforcement homicides involved the use of
a weapon by the arrest subject, 96% involved the use of
a firearm by officers
State respondents reported a number of circumstances surrounding each arrest-related death, including a variety of
behaviors by the arrest subjects and officers. In 80% of the
law enforcement homicides, the deceased reportedly used
a weapon “to threaten or assault” the arresting officers. In
17% of the homicides, the arrest subject grabbed, hit or
fought with the arresting officers.
Few homicides by law enforcement involved persons who
appeared intoxicated during the attempted arrest (18%). A
third (36%) of persons killed by officers attempted to escape
or flee from custody. About 4% of persons killed by police
had been placed under physical restraints during the
attempted arrest.
Nearly all law enforcement homicides (96%) involved the
use of firearms by officers. Handguns were used by officers
in 84% of the homicides, and rifles and shotguns in 17%.
Three deaths were caused by an officer’s use of a nightstick, baton, or conducted-energy device such as a taser or
stun gun. No weapons were reportedly used in 3% of law
enforcement homicides.

During 2003-2005, 380 law enforcement officers were killed, and nearly 175,000 assaulted
According to the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed
and Assaulted (LEOKA) data, 380 law enforcement
officers nationwide were killed in the line of duty
between 2003 and 2005. Fewer than half (159) of these
deaths were homicides. Accidental deaths during
arrests (221) accounted for the majority of officer deaths
in the line of duty.
Analysis of DCRP records indicates that assaults on
officers and the use of weapons by arrest subjects were
common circumstances in homicides by law
enforcement officers. However, FBI data suggest that
assaults on law enforcement officers do not lead to
arrest fatalities in most cases. The number of persons
killed by officers in the process of arrest from 2003 to
2005 (1,095) was less than 1% of all reported assaults
on law enforcement officers (174,760) over the same
period.

Number of deaths
2003-2005 2005
2004
Law enforcement officers

2003

a

Killed
Feloniously
Accidentally
Assaulted

380
159
221
174,760

117
53
64
57,546

2,002
1,095
140

703
364
47

133
130
54
52
79
78
59,373 57,841

Arresteesb
Deaths
Homicide by law enforcement
Accidental

677
365
41

a

Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and
Assaulted (LEOKA) data. See <http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2005/>.

b
Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Deaths in Custody Reporting Program
(DCRP) data.

Half of all homicides by law enforcement involved large
departments with at least 500 sworn officers

Deaths from alcohol or drug intoxication were least
likely to involve arrests for violent crimes

According to the 2004 Census of State and Local Law
Enforcement Agencies, 168 of the Nation’s 17,876 law
enforcement agencies employed at least 500 full-time
sworn officers. These large law enforcement agencies
employed 39% of all sworn officers, but were involved in
half (50%) of all homicides by law enforcement officers
reported to DCRP during 2003 through 2005.

After homicide, deaths from alcohol or drug intoxication
were the second most common type of arrest-related
deaths (13%).* Intoxication deaths differed from other
arrest-related deaths on several characteristics:

Percent
State and local law
State and local law
Homicides by law
enforcement agencies,
by number of sworn officers enforcement officers enforcement officers
Fewer than 100
100-499
500 or more

36%
25
39

24%
26
50

Note: Data on full-time sworn officers taken from the Census of State and
Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2004, available at <http://
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/csllea04.htm>.

Most arrest-related homicides involved local police departments (74%), followed by county sheriffs’ offices (19%) and
State police or highway patrol agencies (6%). Special jurisdiction agencies, such as campus police, transit police
authorities or park police departments, were involved in 1%
of such homicides.

622
366
52

• Arrest subjects under age 25 made up a smaller share of
intoxication deaths (13%) than homicide (28%), accidental
(25%), or suicide (20%) deaths.
• Whites were involved in 33% of intoxication deaths, the
lowest percentage of whites among all causes of death.
• Intoxication deaths were less likely to involve violent
offenders (28%) than any other cause of death.
Despite the low percentage of violent offenders overall,
assault (23%) was the most common criminal offense
involved in intoxication deaths. Persons arrested for substance abuse-related offenses — such as drug law violations (19%), disorderly conduct including drunkenness
(12%), and driving while intoxicated (1%) — combined for a
third of all intoxication deaths. Persons with no criminal
charges made up a larger share of intoxication deaths (9%)
than any other cause. (See Appendix tables 4 and 6 for
details on characteristics and offenses by cause of death.)
*Excludes cases in which an arrest subject swallowed packets of drugs for
concealment purposes (classified as “accidental injury”).

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

3

In half of intoxication deaths at booking centers or
police stations, arrestees were not visibly intoxicated

In 62% of intoxication deaths, the deceased resisted
arrest, without force or weapons in most cases

Of the 252 arrest-related intoxication deaths, 198 occurred
in the field, prior to booking the arrest subject. In 75% of the
pre-booking intoxication deaths, the deceased appeared
intoxicated to the arresting officers. Over 80% of the prebooking intoxication deaths took place either at a medical
facility or en route to a medical facility, indicating that some
of the subjects who did not appear intoxicated were still provided medical care for other reasons.

Among intoxication deaths that took place in the field prior
to booking, 62% of the persons resisted arrest. According to
several measures, these actions were usually less violent
and involved weapons less often than in deaths due to
homicides by law enforcement.

Among the 50 intoxication deaths that took place at a police
station or booking center, half (51%) were visibly intoxicated
at the time of booking. The percentages who were booked
with visible medical (18%) or mental health problems (2%)
were much smaller. Overall, in a third of cases where arrest
subjects died from intoxication after booking, the deceased
showed no apparent signs of intoxication, mental health
problems, or medical problems at time of the booking. (See
appendix table 8 for details.) In 4 cases, the location of the
intoxication death was not reported.

Most serious offense*
Murder of a law enforcement officer
Assault of a law enforcement officer

Percent of arrest-related deaths
Homicide by
Intoxication
law enforcement

Arrestee characteristic

Behavior at arrest scene
Threatened officers
Used weapon to threaten/assault
officers

0%
8

9%
17

20%

63%

4

80

*Includes attempted offenses.

Increasing number of arrest-related deaths involved the use of tasers or other conducted-energy devices
Conducted-energy devices (CEDs), such as stun
guns or tasers, were involved in 36 arrest-related
deaths reported to DCRP during 2003 through 2005.
In about half of these deaths (17), the CED was
reported as the weapon that caused the death. In the
remaining 19 deaths, the use of a CED was indicated,
but it was not reported as the cause of the death*.
The involvement of CEDs in arrest-related deaths
increased from 3 deaths in 2003 to 24 in 2005.
Every type of arrest-related death was reported
among the 36 deaths involving the use of CEDs. The
most common cause of death was intoxication (10),
followed by accidents (8), and homicides by law
enforcement (7). One death was attributed to illness
and another death was a suicide. In 9 cases where
CED-use was reported, a cause of death could not be
determined.
Arrests for violent crimes were involved in 16 of the
CED-involved deaths, and 8 deaths involved property
crimes. In two cases, the deceased was detained for
mental health care, and in five cases no information
on criminal offense was reported.
*Among medical and law enforcement experts, the ability of CEDs
to cause a death is a subject of debate. Due to reporting gaps,
these 36 cases do not represent a complete count of all deaths in
which the use of a CED was involved.

4 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

Characteristics

Number of arrest-related
deaths involving the use of
conducted energy devices,
2003-2005

Total

36

Year
2003
2004
2005

3
9
24

Cause of death
Homicide by law enforcement
Intoxication
Suicide
Accidental injury
Illness
Other/unknown

7
10
1
8
1
9

Most serious offense
Violent
Property
Drug
Public-order
No criminal charges intended
Offense not reported

16
8
2
3
2
5

Higher percentages of violent offenders, whites
involved in arrest-related suicides
Suicide accounted for nearly as many arrest-related deaths
(234) as intoxication (252). Reports of suicides also
increased 63% from 2003 (56) to 2005 (91).
Other than homicides (74%), suicides were the only type of
arrest-related death to involve arrests for violent crimes in
most cases (51%). Suicide was the only type of death in
which a majority (57%) of the decedents were white. This
finding is consistent with the higher suicide rates observed
for white prison and jail inmates in other DCRP collections
(see Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails
<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/shsplj.htm>).
Two-thirds (67%) of arrest-related suicides occurred at the
scene of the attempted arrest, while the remainder took
place at a police station or booking facility. In terms of their
personal characteristics, the arrest subjects who committed
suicide in these two settings showed many similarities.

Arrestee characteristic

Percent of arrest-related suicides
At police station/
At arrest scene booking center

Male
White, non-Hispanic

98%
58

88%
54

Mean age

37 yrs.

34 yrs.

Number of deaths, 2003-2005

156

76

Arrest-related suicides in the field differed sharply from
those in police stations or booking centers
The circumstances of the suicides showed sharp
differences based on the setting of the events. Suicides that
took place at the scene of the attempted arrest were more
likely to involve large law enforcement agencies and
typically involved firearms. Suicides that took place at a
police station or in a booking center were more likely to
involve small law enforcement agencies and almost
exclusively involved hanging. Suicides that took place after
booking also involved a higher percentage of arrest subjects
who were visibly intoxicated.

Circumstances

Percent of arrest-related suicides
At police station/
At arrest scene
booking center

Arrest agency, number of
full-time sworn officers
Fewer than 100
100-499
500 or more

33%
22
45

66%
18
16

Arrestee appeared intoxicated

12%

31%

Means of suicide
Firearm
Hanging

85%
2

3%
96

Number of deaths, 2003-2005

156

76

Methodology
The Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (Public Law
106-297) required the U.S. Department of Justice to begin a
quarterly collection of individual death records for all persons incarcerated in State or local correctional facilities, as
well as “any person who is in the process of arrest.” The act
linked eligibility for funds under the Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth In Sentencing (VOI/TIS) grant programs
to reporting death records to the Attorney General. At the
time the law was enacted, all 50 States and the District of
Columbia participated in the VOI/TIS grant programs. The
act did not apply to Federal law enforcement agencies or
the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
BJS was tasked with implementing the act and phased in
data collection activity over a 4-year period. Collection of
death records from local jail facilities began in 2000, followed by a separate collection from State prison authorities
in 2001. In 2002 BJS began collecting death records from
all State juvenile correctional systems. The collection of
arrest-related records began in 2003. These four data collections make up the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program
(DCRP).
Identifying State-level data providers
In developing the collection of arrest-related death records,
BJS staff contacted multiple offices in each State to determine the appropriate reporting contact. While each State
was required to report these death records as a condition of
eligibility for VOI/TIS grant funds, the grants were awarded
to State departments of correction. In developing the collection, BJS did not find any State correctional authorities that
collected information on the operations of law enforcement
agencies in their State.
At the time the Death in Custody Reporting Act was passed,
only two States (California and Texas) collected information
on all types of arrest-related deaths. For the remaining 48
States and the District of Columbia, the new DCRP collection was the first attempt to perform a comprehensive count
of all arrest-related deaths.
In California and Texas, State statutes required the reporting
of all arrest-related deaths to the State Attorney General’s
office. These offices agreed to complete statewide reports
of arrest-related deaths for submission to BJS. In all other
jurisdictions, BJS worked with State officials to determine
which agency would collect arrest-related death reports.
A State criminal justice commission, commonly administered by the governor’s office, was the most common data
reporting contact (22 States), followed by the State attorney
general and State police department (8 States each). In five
States, the department of corrections took a lead role in
compiling records because of the VOI/TIS grant funding. In
over 30 States, the reporting office also served as a State
criminal justice Statistical Analysis Center (SAC).

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

5

Defining deaths “in the process of arrest”

Agencies reporting DCRP
arrest-related death records
All data providers
State criminal justice commission
State attorney general
State police/highway patrol
State department of correction
State medical examiner
State department of public safety
State office of financial management

48
22
8
8
5
3
1
1

While every State identified a data provider, three States —
Georgia, Maryland, and Montana — never submitted
records. Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee
began participating in 2004, and Nevada and Wyoming
stopped participating in 2004. A total of 43 States participated in 2003, and 45 States participated in both 2004 and
2005. The District of Columbia submitted records in all 3
years.
Many of the arrest-related deaths undergo lengthy investigations by prosecutors, police departments, and coroner’s
offices to determine a cause of death or decide a legal disposition of the case. It took up to 15 months to finalize
cause of death information for some cases. Multiple contacts were made to the State data providers to complete
missing items and receive a final cause of death.
Data sources for State reporters
Regardless of which State office ultimately took the lead in
compiling the death records, most States utilized multiple
data sources in this effort. Of the 47 States that participated
at some point, 42 used multiple sources of information on
arrest-related deaths, while 30 states reported at least 3 different sources of data. (See Appendix table 1 for a detailed
listing of reporting methods used by each State.)
State and local law enforcement agencies were the most
common source of data used by State reporters. Law
enforcement agencies voluntarily reported arrest-related
deaths to 40 data providers. In California and Texas, law
enforcement agencies were required by State law to submit
arrest-related death records. The Metropolitan Police
Department was the only source of arrest-related data for
the District of Columbia.
Thirty States used media searches to identify arrest-related
deaths and followed up with a data request to the law
enforcement agency involved in the incident. In some cases
when the agency did not respond to this information
request, the State contact used the media accounts of the
death to complete the DCRP questionnaire. Twenty-three
States involved county coroners or the State medical examiner’s office in compiling these records, and 19 States
involved the State police. Nine States used their Uniform
Crime Reporting office, and 6 States collected information
from prosecutors’ offices. Seven States used other
resources or agencies in compiling these reports.
6 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

BJS had to define the term “in the process of arrest,” specified in the Death in Custody Reporting Act (PL 106-297).
BJS staff consulted with the International Association of
Chiefs of Police (IACP), the National Sheriffs’ Association
(NSA), and criminal justice researchers to identify which circumstances involved an “arrest process.”
All deaths of persons in the physical custody or under the
physical restraint of law enforcement officers were included.
This resulted in the reporting of 75 deaths over three years
in which no criminal charges were involved. Law enforcement responses to people exhibiting mental health problems accounted for 44 of these cases, while another 9
cases involved persons who had to be restrained by police
for medical transportation. In another 22 cases, the reason
for law enforcement involvement was not specified, but the
record indicated that no criminal charges were involved.
The deaths of any other persons not subject to an
attempted arrest were excluded, including bystanders and
law enforcement officers killed during an attempted arrest.
State contacts were instructed to include all deaths resulting
from use of force by law enforcement officers. Arrest-related
suicides were also included in this collection, provided that
law enforcement officers were in some type of contact with
the arrest subject prior to the suicide. For example, if an
armed suspect was surrounded by officers and chose to
take his own life rather than surrender, the death would be
included. However, if an offender was actively sought by
police but committed suicide before the police located him,
the death would be excluded. The reason for the exclusion
is that no officers were present at the time of death to
attempt an arrest.
Vehicular accident deaths that were not specifically related
to arrest activities were excluded from the collection. States
were instructed to include vehicular accident deaths only
when law enforcement officers actively took some role in
causing the accident during an arrest attempt. This included
shooting at the vehicle or driver or forcing the vehicle off the
road with a police vehicle or other obstructions (such as a
spike strip to blow out tires or a roadblock). All other vehicular deaths were excluded.
States were also instructed to disregard whether an arrest
warrant had been issued. Because officers frequently make
arrests in response to unexpected events, requiring an
arrest warrant would leave many arrest-related deaths unreported. Likewise, States were told to exclude the deaths of
persons who had arrest warrants issued against them that
went unenforced. For example, if an offender had a bench
warrant issued for their arrest, but later died before any
officers attempted to enforce this arrest warrant, the State
was told to exclude that record. In such cases, the arrest
warrant indicated an administrative criminal justice status
and not an attempt to bring the subject into custody.
Deaths of arrestees were subject to the data collection from
the time police encountered them in the field until the time

they were booked into a local jail facility. This included
deaths of arrest subjects who died at medical facilities due
to injuries or medical problems, as well as any persons who
died in transit from an arrest scene in a police vehicle or
ambulance. All deaths in jails are reported to BJS under a
separate DCRP collection with different questionnaires.
Once records of arrest-related deaths were submitted to
BJS, the forms were reviewed to ensure that each case met
the established guidelines. Deaths were checked against
the DCRP database of jail facility deaths for the same year
to avoid double-counting. BJS staff and the State contacts
routinely discussed and resolved cases that were ambiguous or appeared to involve circumstances that would
exclude them from the collection.
Arrest-related deaths from the Supplementary Homicide
Reports
While DCRP is the only national statistical program that
measures all types of arrest-related deaths, two other
national programs measure law enforcement homicides.
Law enforcement agencies can submit Supplementary
Homicide Reports (SHR) as part of the FBI’s Uniform Crime
Reporting (UCR) program. The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics
(NCHS) also compiles mortality statistics, including a category for law enforcement homicides. The SHR records
include basic data on the type of homicide, the relationship
between the deceased and assailant, and demographic
characteristics of the deceased. Law enforcement agencies
describe the event as a “justifiable homicide by police.”
During the 3 years covered by this report, Florida and the
District of Columbia did not report SHR data to the FBI. In
other States, an SHR record should have been filed by
police for all justifiable homicides. It is unknown what percentage of justifiable homicides by police were actually submitted to SHR. For a detailed discussion of SHR reporting
procedures regarding justifiable homicides by police, see
the Methodology section of Policing and Homicide, 197698: Justifiable Homicide by Police, Police Officers Murdered
by Felons <http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/
ph98.htm>.

A major difference between the SHR and DCRP counts of
law enforcement homicides is the source of the data. SHR
records are reported by the law enforcement agencies
involved in the deaths while DCRP records are compiled by
State data reporters. State law enforcement agencies were
involved in 6% of law enforcement homicide cases reported
to DCRP. In the remaining 94% of law enforcement homicides, State data reporters provided data on local law
enforcement agencies (see appendix table 7).
A comparison of the SHR and DCRP counts of law enforcement homicides between 2003 and 2005 is discussed on
page 2. Data for each State by type of data collection are
presented in appendix table 3.
Arrest-related deaths from the National Center for Health
Statistics
A national measure of law enforcement homicides is also
contained in mortality statistics collected by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for
Health Statistics (NCHS). In collecting death certificates for
all deaths in the United States, NCHS classifies causes of
death according to the International Classification of Disease, 10th revision (ICD-10). Under the ICD-10 system,
deaths can be classified as “deaths by legal intervention” (or
code Y35). These records include only deaths by police use
of force and mandated executions in prisons. None of the
other forms of arrest-related deaths are included.
The NCHS death records are typically reported by coroners
and medical examiner’s offices. These data providers may
not always use the specific ICD-10 code to designate law
enforcement homicides separately from other homicide
cases. The respondents may also not know if the deceased
was involved in an attempted arrest at the time of death.
Final NCHS’ mortality data on legal intervention deaths
were not available for 2005. For 2003 and 2004, NCHS
counts of legal intervention deaths by police (679 nationwide) were lower than the counts of law enforcement homicides reported to DCRP (731) and justifiable homicides by
police reported to SHR (739). NCHS counts of legal intervention deaths are available at <http://wonder.cdc.gov/cmficd10.html>.

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

7

This report in portable document
format and in ASCII and its related
statistical data and tables are
available at the BJS World Wide
Web Internet site: <http://
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/
ardus05.htm>.

Office of Justice Programs
Innovation • Partnerships • Safer
Neighborhoods

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is
the statistical agency of the U.S.
Department of Justice. Jeffrey L.
Sedgwick is director.
This Special Report was written by
Christopher J. Mumola. Margaret
E. Noonan verified the report and
prepared data tables. Data
collection and processing of death
records were carried out by Lara E.
Allen and Margaret E. Noonan.
Erica L. Smith analyzed data from
the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide
Reports.

8 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

Carolyn C. Williams of BJS
produced and edited the report.
Jayne Robinson prepared the
report for final printing, under the
supervision of Doris J. James.
October 2007, NCJ 219534

Appendix table 1. Number of arrest-related deaths and data reporting sources, by State, 2003-2005

Region and jurisdiction
Total

Number of arrest- Local law
related deaths,
enforcement
2003-05
agency
2,002

Northeast
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont

261
9
6
23
5
37
97
77
5
2

Midwest
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
South Dakota
Wisconsin

378
80
26
22
22
73
20
16
10
7
71
5
26

South
Alabama
Arkansas
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia

699
9
1
3
10
204
/
9
11
/
3
58
39
6
4
298
37
7

Media

43

30

„
„
„

„

„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
/
„
/
„
„
„
„
„
„
„

„
„
„
„
„
„
„

Data reporting sources
Coroner/
State attorMedical
State UCR/ ney general/
examiner
State police SHR reporter Prosecutors
23

19

„
„

„
„

9

6

Other*
7

„

„
„

„

„
„
„

„
„

„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
„

„
„
/
„
„
/

„
„
„
„

„
„

„
„
„
„

„

„

„
„
„
„

„
„

„
„
„
/

/
„
„
„
„
„
„
„

„

„
„
/

„
/

/

/
„

„
/

/

/

/
„

„

„
„

„
„

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

9

Appendix table 1. Number of arrest-related deaths and data reporting sources, by State, 2003-2005(cont.)

Region and jurisdiction
West
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Hawaii
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Washington
Wyoming

Number of arrest- Local law
related deaths,
enforcement
2003-05
agency
664
3
125
310
48
10
4
/
2
32
42
21
66
1

Media

„
„
„
„
„
„
/
/
„
„
„
„
„

„
„

/
/

Data reporting sources
Coroner/
State attorMedical
State UCR/ ney general/
examiner
State police SHR reporter Prosecutors
„
„
„
„

/
/
„

„
„

„
/
/

„
„

Other

„

„

/
/

/
/

/
„

„
„
„

/Not reported.
* The following States used other data sources: Indiana (Department of Health), Nebraska (targeted annual mailings by the Nebraska Crime
Commission), Kentucky (Office of Vital Statistics), North Carolina (local hospitals), New Mexico (National Violent Death Registry Project), and
Oregon (Department of Health Services).

10 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

Appendix table 2. Number of arrest-related deaths, by State and cause of death, 2003-2005
Cause of death, 2003-05
Number of arrestrelated deaths,
2003-05

Homicide

Intoxication

Suicide

Accident

Illness

Other/
unknown

2,002

1,106

251

234

140

113

158

Northeast
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont

261
9
6
23
5
37
97
77
5
2

142
9
2
6
3
20
52
47
1
2

35
0
1
9
1
7
11
5
1
0

28
0
2
3
1
3
10
9
0
0

12
0
0
0
0
2
6
3
1
0

27
0
0
4
0
2
12
7
2
0

17
0
1
1
0
3
6
6
0
0

Midwest
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
South Dakota
Wisconsin

378
80
26
22
22
73
20
16
10
7
71
5
26

260
55
26
15
10
48
14
9
8
2
49
5
19

29
3
0
0
3
8
2
2
0
2
8
0
1

35
8
0
5
3
7
0
4
0
3
0
0
5

26
5
0
2
2
8
2
0
0
0
6
0
1

16
5
0
0
3
2
1
1
2
0
2
0
0

12
4
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
6
0
0

South
Alabama
Arkansasa
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisianaa
Maryland
Mississippia
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennesseea
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia

699
9
1
3
10
204
/
9
11
/
3
58
39
6
4
298
37
7

330
6
0
2
7
98
/
9
7
/
0
19
31
2
1
116
29
3

94
1
1
0
1
21
/
0
0
/
1
6
1
2
0
57
2
1

94
1
0
0
1
6
/
0
0
/
2
9
6
0
0
65
4
0

54
0
0
0
0
18
/
0
1
/
0
13
1
1
1
16
1
2

40
1
0
0
1
4
/
0
2
/
0
4
0
0
0
27
1
0

87
0
0
1
0
57
/
0
1
/
0
7
0
1
2
17
0
1

West
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Hawaii
Idaho
Montana
Nevadab
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Washington
Wyomingb

664
3
125
310
48
10
4
/
2
32
42
21
66
1

374
1
79
162
26
3
3
/
1
16
36
12
35
0

94
0
12
62
3
4
0
/
0
4
0
1
8
0

77
1
20
17
11
0
0
/
0
11
4
7
6
0

48
1
7
25
6
0
1
/
0
1
2
0
5
0

30
0
4
20
1
3
0
/
1
0
0
0
0
1

41
0
3
24
1
0
0
/
0
0
0
1
12
0

Region and jurisdiction
Total

/Not reported.
aReported
b

data only in 2004 and 2005.

Reported data only in 2003.

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

11

Appendix table 3. Comparative counts of law enforcement homicides in Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR)
and Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) data collections, by State, 2003-2005
2003
Region and jurisdiction

2004

SHR

DCRP

371

366

Northeast
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont

46
0
0
4
0
11
18
13
0
0

Midwest
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
South Dakota
Wisconsin
South
Alabama
Arkansas
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia

Total

West
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Hawaii
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Washington
Wyoming

SHR

2005
DCRP

SHR

DCRP

368

365

343

364

36
0
1
2
1
1
15
15
0
1

56
2
0
1
1
19
14
19
0
0

55
5
0
2
1
8
17
21
1
0

38
2
1
1
0
12
10
11
0
1

46
4
1
2
1
10
16
11
0
1

55
15
6
1
0
7
2
10
1
0
8
0
5

100
24
9
2
4
20
5
7
5
2
13
3
6

44
9
2
1
0
13
5
9
1
0
2
0
2

78
15
7
8
2
14
7
1
2
0
17
1
4

40
12
8
2
2
2
2
6
0
0
1
1
4

81
16
10
5
4
14
2
1
1
0
18
1
9

92
1
2
0
/
/
10
2
9
10
0
3
12
0
5
34
4
0

111
1
/
1
2
22
/
3
/
/
/
1
14
2
/
55
8
2

79
0
0
0
/
/
0
2
7
13
0
4
11
4
10
23
5
0

97
0
0
0
2
31
/
2
0
/
0
9
15
0
0
25
12
1

89
1
0
0
/
/
6
1
13
18
0
5
11
1
5
27
1
0

119
5
0
1
3
45
/
4
7
/
0
8
1
0
1
36
8
0

178
2
17
120
14
1
0
0
2
3
3
1
13
2

119
0
18
50
13
0
2
/
1
11
9
4
11
0

189
2
27
123
12
1
1
0
4
2
5
2
10
0

135
1
34
60
6
3
1
/
/
3
12
5
10
/

176
1
18
111
8
0
0
4
9
5
5
2
12
1

118
0
27
50
7
0
0
/
/
2
15
3
14
/

/Not reported.

12 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

Appendix table 4. Percent of arrest-related deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2003-2005
Cause of death, 2003-05
Selected characteristics

Suicide

Accident

Illness

Other/
unknown

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

96.8%
3.2

93.7%
6.3

94.4%
5.6

97.1%
2.9

92.0%
8.0

92.2%
7.8

43.9%
31.9
20.2
4.0

44.8%
29.9
20.2
5.1

32.7%
41.0
21.9
4.4

57.0%
14.3
25.7
3.0

37.2%
42.3
18.2
2.3

46.3%
37.0
13.9
2.8

39.4%
46.0
14.6
0.0

2.1%
20.1
28.1
28.6
15.0
6.1

2.5%
25.3
29.5
25.3
11.9
5.5

1.6%
11.7
33.6
35.6
15.4
2.0

2.6%
17.0
24.9
31.0
16.6
7.9

2.2%
23.1
25.4
29.9
15.7
3.7

0.0%
2.7
11.8
24.5
39.1
21.8

0.7%
10.2
27.7
40.1
16.1
5.1

252

234

140

All causes

Homicide

Intoxication

100%

100%

Gender
Male
Female

95.5%
4.5

Race/Hispanic origin
White*
Black or African American*
Hispanic or Latino
Other/multiple races
Age
17 or younger
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55 or older

All deaths

Number of deaths

2,002

1,106

113

157

Note: Gender was not reported for 4 deaths, race/Hispanic origin was not reported for 46 deaths, and age was not reported for 70
deaths.
*Excludes Hispanics or Latinos.

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

13

Appendix table 5. Arrest-related deaths, by most serious offense,
2003-2005
Most serious offense
All offenses

Arrest-related deaths, 2003-05
Number
Percent
2,002

100%

1,119
177
8
105
64
38
13
96
744
251
57
436
51

55.9%
8.8
0.4
5.2
3.2
1.9
0.6
4.8
37.2
12.5
2.8
21.8
2.5

Property offenses
Burglary
Larceny
Motor vehicle theft
Fraud
Other propertyc

150
49
14
21
11
55

7.5%
2.4
0.7
1.0
0.5
2.7

Drug offenses
Possession
Trafficking
Other drug

154
105
31
18

7.7%
5.2
1.5
0.9

Public-order offenses
Weapons
Obstruction of justice
Obstruction of law enforcement activities
Obstruction of court activities
Traffic violations
Driving while intoxicated
Drunkenness, disorderly conduct
Probation/parole violation, escape
Immigration
Other public-order

290
36
85
55
30
36
29
74
21
1
8

14.5%
1.8
4.2
2.7
1.5
1.8
1.4
3.7
1.0
-0.4

75
44
9
22

3.7%
2.2
0.4
1.1

214

10.7%

Violent offenses
Homicide
Murder of a law enforcement officer
Att.murder of a law enforcement officer
Other murder/manslaughter
Kidnapping
Sexual assault a
Robbery
Assault
Assault on a law enforcement officer
Domestic violenceb
Other assault
Other violent

No criminal charges intended
Mental health transport
Medical transport
Unspecified
Offense not reported
--Less than 0.05%.
aIncludes
b

rape and other sexual assault.

Some domestic violence cases may be reported as assaults.

cIncludes

arson and stolen property.

14 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

Appendix table 6. Most serious offense by cause of death among arrest-related deaths, 2003-2005
Cause of death, 2003-05
Most serious offense
All offenses

All causes

Homicide

Intoxication

Suicide

Accident

Illness

Other/
unknown

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

55.9%
8.8
5.6
3.2
1.9
4.8
37.2
12.5
2.8
21.8

74.2%
13.1
9.4
3.7
2.3
7.0
48.7
16.7
2.2
29.8

27.8%
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.2
1.2
23.0
8.3
2.0
12.7

50.9%
9.0
1.7
7.3
3.4
3.8
28.6
4.7
6.4
17.5

29.3%
2.8
1.4
1.4
0.0
2.1
23.6
10.0
3.6
10.0

29.2%
0.9
0.0
0.9
0.0
1.8
21.2
8.8
4.4
8.0

22.3%
3.8
1.9
1.9
1.3
1.3
14.6
6.4
1.9
6.3

Property offensesa
Burglary
Motor vehicle theft

7.5%
2.4
1.0

3.9%
1.6
1.0

13.9%
4.4
0.4

10.3%
1.7
1.7

9.3%
2.9
2.1

15.9%
3.5
1.8

10.8%
5.1
0.0

Drug offensesa
Possession
Trafficking

7.7%
5.2
1.5

2.9%
1.4
1.2

18.7%
15.9
1.2

6.0%
3.0
1.7

18.6%
10.0
5.7

15.9%
12.4
1.8

10.8%
9.6
0.0

14.5%
1.8
4.2
2.7
1.5
1.8
1.4
3.7
1.0

8.0%
1.9
2.8
1.8
1.0
1.0
0.4
0.8
0.7

22.6%
1.2
5.6
3.6
2.0
3.2
1.2
11.5
0.0

24.8%
3.4
6.4
3.4
3.0
3.4
4.3
4.3
2.1

27.1%
0.7
11.4
8.6
2.9
5.0
3.6
3.6
2.1

29.2%
1.8
2.7
1.8
0.9
1.8
5.6
12.4
3.5

10.2%
0.6
3.8
2.5
1.3
0.0
0.6
4.5
0.6

3.7%
2.2

2.5%
1.2

8.7%
5.2

3.4%
3.0

1.4%
1.4

6.2%
3.5

5.1%
3.2

10.7%

8.5%

8.3%

4.7%

14.3%

3.5%

40.8%

252

234

140

113

157

a

Violent offenses
Homicide
Murder of a law enforcement officerb
Other murder/manslaughter
Kidnapping
Robbery
Assault
Assault on a law enforcement officer
Domestic violencec
Other assault

Public-order offensesa
Weapons
Obstruction of justice
Obstruction of law enforcement activities
Obstruction of court activities
Traffic violations
Driving while intoxicated
Drunkenness, disorderly conduct
Probation/parole violation, escape
No criminal charges intendeda
Mental health transport
Offense not reported
Number of deaths

2,002

1,106

aDetailed

offenses only displayed when 20 or more deaths were reported.

bIncludes

attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.

cSome

domestic violence cases may be reported as assaults.

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

15

Appendix table 7. Profile of circumstances surrounding arrestrelated homicides by law enforcement, 2003-2005

Circumstances

Arrest-related law enforcement homicides, 2003-05
Number
Percent

Type of agency involved in arresta
Sheriffs’ office
Local police department
State police/highway patrol
Special jurisdiction police
Constables

207
802
70
9
3

19.0%
73.5
6.4
0.8
0.3

Number of full-time sworn personnel
employed by the agency involveda
1-9
10-24
25-49
50-99
100-249
250-499
500-999
1,000 or more

27
46
93
96
144
140
119
423

2.5%
4.2
8.5
8.8
13.2
12.9
10.9
38.9

38
26
5
12

3.6%
2.4
0.5
1.1

199
681
311
392
184
872

18.3%
62.6
28.6
36.0
16.9
80.1

1,058
829

97.2%
75.7

Weapon used by officers to cause the death
Firearm
Handgun
Rifle/shotgun
Unspecified firearm
Nightstick or baton
Taser/conducted-energy device
Otherc

1,060
1,049
912
186
13
1
2
11

97.3%
96.3
83.7
17.1
1.2
0.1
0.2
1.0

Number of deaths

1,095

Restraints used on the arresteeb
Handcuffs
Leg restraints
Other devices
Arrestee behavior during arrest
Appeared intoxicated
Threatened officers
Resisted arrest
Tried to flee, escape arrest
Grabbed, hit or fought with officers
Used weapon to threaten/assault officers
Any of the above
Two or more of the above

Note: Data was missing on 4 cases for agency type, 7 cases for the number
of sworn officers, 33 cases for restraint use, 6 cases for arrestee behavior,
and 6 cases for weapons used by officers.
a

In cases involving multiple arresting agencies, the characteristics of the
largest agency are reported.

b

More than one device may have been used to restrain the arrestee.

c

Includes five cases in which a vehicle was used as a weapon; two cases
involving a knife; and one case each involving a pellet gun, broken glass, and
an unspecified police restraint device.

16 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

Appendix table 8. Profile of circumstances surrounding arrest-related
intoxication deaths, 2003-2005

Circumstances

Arrest-related alcohol/drug
intoxication deaths, 2003-05
Number
Percent

Death occurred at the arrest scene (198 cases)
Restraints used on the arrestee*
Handcuffs
Leg restraints
Other devices
No restraints used

163
157
32
13
22

88.1%
84.9
17.2
7.0
11.9

Arrestee behavior during arrest
Appeared intoxicated
Threatened officers
Resisted arrest
Tried to flee, escape arrest
Grabbed, hit or fought with officers
Used weapon to threaten/assault officers

149
40
122
53
80
9

75.3%
20.2
61.6
26.8
40.4
4.5

175
128

88.4%
64.6

27
149
11
5

14.1%
77.6
5.7
2.6

24
1
8

51.1%
2.2
17.8

32

68.1%

Any of the above
Two or more of the above
Location where the arrestee died
At the crime/arrest scene
At medical facility
En route to medical facility
En route to booking center/police station
Death occurred at a police station or booking facility
(50 cases)
Arrestee behavior at time of entry
Appeared intoxicated
Exhibit mental health problems
Exhibit medical problems
Any of the above

*More than one device may have been used to restrain the arrestee.

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

17

Appendix table 9. Profile of circumstances surrounding arrestrelated suicides prior to booking, 2003-2005
Circumstances
Type of agency involved in arresta
Sheriffs’ office
Local police department
State police/highway patrol
Special jurisdiction police
Constables

Arrest-related suicides, 2003-05
Number
Percent
38
101
15
1
0

24.5%
65.2
9.7
0.6
0.0

Number of full-time sworn personnel
employed by the agency involveda
1-9
10-24
25-49
50-99
100-249
250-499
500-999
1,000 or more

7
12
16
16
17
17
22
48

4.5%
7.7
10.3
10.3
11.0
11.0
14.2
31.0

Restraints used on the arresteeb
Handcuffs
Leg restraints
Other devices

14
12
1
0

9.2%
7.7
0.6
0.0

Location where the arrestee died
At the crime/arrest scene
At medical facility
En route to medical facility
En route to booking center/police station
Elsewhere

104
36
3
4
5

68.4%
23.7
2.0
2.6
3.3

Arrestee behavior during arrest
Appeared intoxicated
Threatened officers
Resisted arrest
Tried to flee, escape arrest
Grabbed, hit or fought with officers
Used weapon to threaten/assault officers

19
37
26
55
5
52

12.2%
23.7
16.7
35.3
3.2
33.3

109
57

69.9%
36.5

Weapon used to cause the death
Firearm
Handgun
Rifle/shotgun
Unspecified firearm
Nightstick or baton
Taser/conducted-energy device
Otherc

140
132
107
25
0
0
1
7

89.7%
84.6
68.6
16.0
0.0
0.0
0.6
4.5

Number of deaths

156

Any of the above
Two or more of the above

Note: Data were missing on one case for agency type, one case for the number of sworn officers, and four cases for restraint use.
aIn

cases involving multiple arresting agencies, the characteristics of the largest agency are reported.

b

More than one device may have been used to restrain the arrestee.

c

Three suicides were committed using a wire or cord; two cases involved a
knife; and one case each involved a broken bottle and a vehicle.

18 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

Appendix table 10. Profile of circumstances surrounding arrest-related
suicides at police stations and booking facilities, 2003-2005

Circumstances

Arrest-related suicides,
2003-05
Number
Percent

Type of agency involved in arresta
Sheriffs’ office
Local police department
State police/highway patrol
Special jurisdiction police
Constables

27
48
1
0
0

35.5%
63.2
1.3
0.0
0.0

Number of full-time sworn personnel
employed by the agency involveda
1-9
10-24
25-49
50-99
100-249
250-499
500-999
1,000 or more

8
14
18
10
7
7
1
11

10.5%
18.4
23.7
13.2
9.2
9.2
1.3
14.5

Arrestee behavior at time of entry
Appeared intoxicated
Exhibit mental health problems
Exhibit medical problems

21
4
2

31.3%
6.2
3.1

25

37.3%

Means of suicide
Hanging, strangulation
Firearm
Blunt instrument
Knife, other cutting instrument
Intentional drug overdose
Otherb

66
2
0
0
0
1

95.7%
2.9
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.4

Number of deaths

76

Any of the above

a

In cases involving multiple arresting agencies, the characteristics of
the largest agency are reported.

b

Arrestee jumped from a third-floor stairway.

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

19

Appendix table 11. Law enforcement officers killed and assaulted, and arrestees killed in the process of arrest,
by State, 2003-2005
Law enforcement officers killed, 2003-05a
Region and jurisdiction
Total
Northeastc
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Midwestd
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
South Dakota
Wisconsin
Southe
Alabama
Arkansas
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia

Arrestee deaths, 2003-05b
Homicide by law
Total
enforcement
Accidental

Assaults on law
enforcement officers, 2003-05a

Total

Feloniously

Accidentally

380

159

221

2,002

1,095

140

174,760

43
2
0
2
0
8
16
12
1
2

16
1
0
0
0
1
8
5
1
0

27
1
0
2
0
7
8
7
0
2

261
9
6
23
5
37
97
77
5
2

137
9
2
6
3
19
48
47
1
2

12
0
0
0
0
2
6
3
1
0

22,640

68
12
10
1
3
14
3
12
1
0
6
1
5

28
1
5
0
2
6
2
4
1
0
4
0
3

40
11
5
1
1
8
1
8
0
0
2
1
2

378
80
26
22
22
73
20
16
10
7
71
5
26

259
55
26
15
10
48
14
9
8
2
48
5
19

26
5
0
2
2
8
2
0
0
0
6
0
1

24,583

190
16
4
1
1
22
18
4
18
6
9
13
5
10
16
34
13
0

83
9
0
0
1
7
7
3
11
2
6
6
2
5
6
8
10
0

107
7
4
1
0
15
11
1
7
4
3
7
3
5
10
26
3
0

699
9
1
3
10
204
/
9
11
/
3
58
39
6
4
298
37
7

327
6
0
2
7
98
/
9
7
/
0
18
30
2
1
116
28
3

54
0
0
0
0
18
/
0
1
/
0
13
1
1
1
16
1
2

86,570

20 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

Appendix table 11. Law enforcement officers killed and assaulted, and arrestees killed in the process of arrest,
by State, 2003-2005 (cont.)
Law enforcement officers killed, 2003-05a
Region and jurisdiction
f

West
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Hawaii
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Washington
Wyoming

Total
79
1
10
44
3
4
1
2
1
3
1
2
7
0

Feloniously
32
1
4
17
1
1
0
1
0
3
0
1
3
0

Accidentally
47
0
6
27
2
3
1
1
1
0
1
1
4
0

Arrestee deaths, 2003-05b
Homicide by law
Total
enforcement
Accidental
664
3
125
310
48
10
4
/
2
32
42
21
66
1

372
1
79
160
26
3
3
/
1
16
36
12
35
0

48
1
7
25
6
0
1
/
0
1
2
0
5
0

Assaults on law
enforcement officers, 2003-05a
40,967

/Not reported.
a

Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) data collection program.

b

Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

cCount
d

of assaults on law enforcement officers excludes Vermont for 2004 and 2005.

Count of assaults on law enforcement officers excludes Illinois for all years.

eCount

of assaults on law enforcement officers excludes West Virginia for all years.

fCount

of assaults on law enforcement officers excludes Montana for 2005.

Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005

21

Appendix table 12. Selected characteristics of deaths involving the use
of conducted-energy devices, 2003-2005

Characteristics
All deaths

Arrest-related deaths involving the
use of conducted-energy devices,
2003-05
Number
Percent
36

100%

Year
2003
2004
2005

3
9
24

8.3%
25.0
66.7

Gender
Male

36

100%

Race/Hispanic origin
White, not Hispanic or Latino
Black, not Hispanic or Latino
Hispanic or Latino

15
16
2

45.5%
48.5
6.1

Cause of death
Homicide by law enforcement
Intoxication
Suicide
Accident
Illness
Other/unknown

7
10
1
8
1
9

19.4%
27.8
2.8
22.2
2.8
25.0

Most serious offense
Violent offenses
Assault on a law enforcement officera
Property offenses
Drug offenses
Public-order offenses
No criminal charges intended
Criminal charges not reported

16
6
8
2
3
2
5

44.4%
16.7
22.2
5.6
8.3
5.6
13.9

Restraints used on arresteeb
Handcuffs
Leg restraints
Other devices

28
18
5
16

77.8%
50.0
13.9
44.4

Arrestee behavior during arrest
Appeared intoxicated
Threatened officers
Resisted arrest
Tried to flee, escape arrest
Grabbed, hit or fought with officers
Used weapon to threaten/assault officers

19
13
29
16
15
11

52.8%
36.1
80.6
44.4
41.7
30.6

36
34

100%
94.4

24
5
5
1
17
3

68.6%
14.3
14.3
2.9
48.6
8.6

Any of the above
Two or more of the above
Weapon used to cause the deathc
Firearm
Handgun
Nightstick or baton
Taser/conducted-energy deviced
Othere

Note: Data was missing on three cases for race/Hispanic origin, and on one case for
weapons used.
aIncludes

attempted assaults on a law enforcement officer.

bMore

than one device may have been used to restrain the arrestee.

cMore

than one weapon may have been used to cause the death.

d

Of the 17 cases where States reported a conducted-energy device as the weapon
causing the death, 5 were classified as accidents, 4 were intoxications, 2 were homicides by law enforcement, 1 was a suicide and 5 were classified as "other/unknown."
e

Includes one case involving a knife, and two cases in which a taser was used, but
the report indicates that it was not established as the cause of the death.

22 Arrest-Related Deaths in the United States, 2003-2005