SECTION III Assaults on Federal Officers Federal agencies reported 556 assaults on officers during 1996. Three federal officers employed by the agencies were killed in the line of duty. Personal injuries were suffered by an additional 116 officers. During the 5-year period 1992-1996, 3,759 officers were assaulted, and 1,092 officers were injured. The following 22 were slain in the line of duty: 1 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Agent, 1 Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Agent, and 2 Deputy U.S. Marshals in 1992; 4 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Agents in 1993; 1 DEA Agent and 2 FBI Agents in 1994; 1 FBI Agent, 1 DEA Agent, 2 Customs Service Agents, 4 Secret Service Agents in 1995; 1 FBI Agent, 1 Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Agent, and 1 tribal police officer within the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in 1996. The Department of Justice registered 58 percent of the total assaults in 1996. Thirtyone percent of the officers assaulted were with the Department of Treasury, 6 percent with the Department of the Interior, 4 percent with the U.S. Postal Service, and 1 percent with the U.S. Capitol Police.
1996. Twenty-three percent of the assaults occurred while officers were making arrests/ serving summonses, and 8 percent while officers were conducting investigations/ searches. Four percent of the victims were on office duty; 2 percent were maintaining custody of prisoners; 1 percent were on protection duty; and 1 percent were on court duty. Twenty percent were performing other duties when assaulted. Geographically, the West accounted for the largest portion of all reported assaults, with 42 percent. The South accounted for 40 percent; the Midwest for 10 percent; the Northeast for 6 percent; and U.S. territories, 2 percent. The locations for assaults on 64 DEA officers and 34 BIA officers were not reported. Locales are not available for the assaults on National Park Service officers. Information was received for 320 offenders identified in connection with assaulting federal officers in 1996. Disposition information was reported on 249 of these offenders. Fifty-six percent of the 249 offenders have been charged with assaulting a federal officer, and 57 percent of those charged have been found guilty. DEPARTMENTAL ASSAULTS - 1996
Personal weapons were used in 29 percent of all assaults in 1996. Firearms were the weapons used in 20 percent, other dangerous weapons in 11 percent, vehicles in 8 percent, knives in 2 percent, blunt objects and bombs combined comprised 1 percent. Twenty-nine percent of the assaults were threats. More federal officers, 232 or 42 percent, were assaulted while on patrol/guard duty than while engaged in any other activity during
Department of the Interior All 36 Department of the Interior officers for whom assaults were reported in 1996 were with the BIA. Information on assaults of the National Park Service officers was not available. One BIA officer was killed and 15 were injured as a result of the assaults. A tribal police officer within the BIA was fatally wounded while responding to a burglary in progress call.
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