Eleven years of occupational mortality in law enforcement: The census of fatal occupational injuries, 1992-2002

Background Occupational injury deaths remain high for Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs). This study describes and compares intentional and transportation‐related fatality rates in US LEOs between 1992 and 2002. Methods Workplace injury deaths among LEOs from 1992 to 2002 were categorized into “Intentional,” “Transportation‐related,” and “Other,” using the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. Occupations included in this analysis were sheriffs and bailiffs, police and detectives, non‐public service guards, and correctional officers. Fatality rates were compared among law enforcement occupations, cause of death, and demographics with rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results During the 11‐year period, 2,280 workers died from an occupational injury, for a fatality rate of 11.8 per 100,000 across all LEO occupations. Forty‐seven percent were homicides (n = 1,072, rate 5.6 per 100,000), 36% transportation‐related (n = 815, rate 4.2 per 100,000), 11% were due to other causes (n = 249, rate 1.3 per 100,000), and 5% were workplace suicides (n = 122, rate 0.6 per 100,000). The proportion of fatalities by cause of death differed significantly between occupations (P