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There were 1,098 officers with the U.S. DHS who were assaulted in 2008. Of these, 1 officer was killed, and 74 officers sustained injuries. The following provides information by agency within the DHS:
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection—1,003 officers were assaulted, with 1 officer killed and 53 officers suffering injuries.
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—75 officers were assaulted. Of those, 18 officers were injured.
- U.S. Secret Service—20 officers were assaulted, 3 of whom were injured.
Type of activity
At the time of their attacks, the officers were performing the following activities:
- 1,016 officers were assigned to patrol or guard duty.
- 25 officers were maintaining custody of prisoners.
- 22 officers were making arrests or serving summonses.
- 17 officers were conducting investigations or searches.
- 9 officers were assigned to office duty.
- 9 officers were on protection duty.
Weapons
- 217 of the 1,098 officers were attacked by persons using personal weapons, such as hands, fists, or feet.
- 63 of the officers were attacked with vehicles.
- 60 officers were attacked with firearms.
- 2 of the officers were attacked with knives or other cutting instruments.
- 2 of the officers suffered attacks with blunt instruments.
- 754 of the officers were attacked with other types of dangerous weapons.
Dispositional information
Law enforcement authorities identified 90 suspects in the assaults on DHS officers. At the time of this report:
- 29 alleged assailants were tried and found guilty.
- Prosecution was declined for 29 known assailants.
- 20 suspects were either found not guilty or charges were dismissed.
- 11 suspects were awaiting trial.
- 1 suspect was found incompetent to stand trial.