title: Fatal Injuries of Law Enforcement/Correctional Officers Attacked with Sharp-Edged Weapons.
abstract: According to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, there were 117 law enforcement fatalities in the United States in 2015. Assaults with sharp-edged weapons have resulted in a total of over 400 fatalities in the United States. The goal of the current research was to examine sharp-edged weapon assaults against law enforcement and correctional agents that resulted in a fatal outcome. A total of twelve autopsy reports were reviewed from across the United States. Four cases involved law enforcement officers, seven involved correctional officers, and one was an off-duty border officer. The male-to-female ratio was 11:1. A total of 70.2% of the wounds analyzed were stab wounds (n = 85), and 29.8% of the wounds were slash wounds (n = 36). Based on this review, the neck, shoulder, and chest regions were the most vulnerable to single fatal stab/slash wounds. Multiple stab/slash wounds often resulted in exsanguination. The use of body armor was only noted in one case.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, The University of Southern California, Mudd Memorial Research Building, 1333 San Pablo Street, Room 116, Los Angeles, CA, 90033.
authors.forename: Patsy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chenpanas
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, The University of Southern California, Mudd Memorial Research Building, 1333 San Pablo Street, Room 116, Los Angeles, CA, 90033.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016495:Police / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011330:Prisons; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014951:Wounds, Stab / Q000401:mortality*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: correctional facilities; fatalities; forensic science; law enforcement; slash; stab; wounds