Ambushes and Unprovoked Attacks: Assaults on Our Naton’s Law Enforcement Ofcers Jefrey A. Daniels, Ph.D. West Virginia University College of Educaton and Human Resources Department of Counseling, Rehabilitaton Counseling, and Counseling Psychology James J. Sheets, Ph.D. Federal Bureau of Investgaton Criminal Justce Informaton Services Division Crime Statstcs Management Unit Philip D. Wright Federal Bureau of Investgaton Criminal Justce Informaton Services Division Crime Statstcs Management Unit Brian R. McAllister Federal Bureau of Investgaton Criminal Justce Informaton Services Division Crime Statstcs Management Unit AMBUSHES and UNPROVOKED ATTACKS i This report is in the public domain. Authorizaton to reproduce this publicaton in whole or in part is granted. The accompanying citaton is as follows: Daniels, J., Sheets, J., Wright, P., & McAllister, B. (2018). Ambushes and Unprovoked Atacks: Assaults on Our Naton’s Law Enforcement Ofcers. West Virginia University and the Federal Bureau of Investgaton, U.S. Department of Justce, Washington, D.C. ii AMBUSHES and UNPROVOKED ATTACKS NOTICE This publicaton was prepared by the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the United States Department of Justce, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any informaton, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that in use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specifc commercial product, process, or service by trade name, mark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily consttute or imply its endorsement, recommendatons, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or refect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Photographs in this publicaton are for illustratve purposes only and are not intended to be an accurate portrayal of real events or the people involved in the real events. AMBUSHES and UNPROVOKED ATTACKS iii CONTENTS Notice .......................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents .......................................................................................iv Executive Summary ....................................................................................v Introduction .................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Defnitons and Framework ...............................................7 Chapter 2: The Ofcers .........................................................................13 Chapter 3: The Ofenders .....................................................................35 Chapter 4: Areas of Concern for Law Enforcement .......................57 Chapter 5: Case Analysis .......................................................................95 Chapter 6: Summaries of Selected Incidents.................................109 Appendix A: Methodology .................................................................119 Appendix B: LEOKA Studies and Ofcer Safety Awareness Presentatons.........................................................................................127 Appendix C: Human Reactons to Trauma .....................................131 Appendix D: References ......................................................................135 Appendix E: Author Biographies ......................................................139 iv AMBUSHES and UNPROVOKED ATTACKS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Over a number of years, data collected by the FBI’s Law Enforcement Ofcers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program began to demonstrate an alarming trend in the number of ofcers who were killed in ambushes and unprovoked atacks. While the overall number of ofcers who were feloniously killed was declining, the percentage of ofcers feloniously killed during surprise atacks was increasing. The LEOKA Program launched a thorough examinaton of ambushes and unprovoked atacks in an efort to gain insight into the phenomenon and to provide informaton to enhance training programs for law enforcement ofcers. The research focused on the mindset and perceptons of ofcers involved and ofenders who carried out those acts. In partcular, why the incidents may have occurred and how those involved reacted to the situaton. Researchers selected incidents that met the LEOKA defnitons for ambushes and unprovoked atacks, researched those cases, conducted in-depth interviews of ofcers and ofenders involved in those incidents, and methodically analyzed the interview transcripts for useful informaton. Partcipants included both law enforcement ofcers and ofenders who willingly agreed to partcipate. The ofcers had survived or witnessed an ambush or an unprovoked atack. The ofenders had been tried and convicted of engaging in such incidents on one or more law enforcement ofcers. Thirty-three ofcers were interviewed, and researchers identfed several topics that ofcers frequently addressed when discussing the ambushes and unprovoked atacks. Some of the most commonly mentoned themes included: Ambushed (describing the atack), Altered perceptons (during the incident) Backup, Refectons (lessons learned), Post-incident-Social support, Ambush cognitons (thoughts during the incident), Psychological impact, and Injuries sustained. Thirty ofenders partcipated, and the LEOKA research team conducted interviews with them in various prisons throughout the United States. Most of the ofenders were male (96.7 percent) and had a history of drug abuse (73.3 percent) and/or alcohol abuse (66.7 percent). Fify percent of the sample reported one or more suicide atempts in the past. The transcripts of the interviews with ofenders demonstrated that many lived lives of stress and strain, ofen coming from unstable homes and engaging in criminal actvites early in life. From the informaton gathered from the ofenders, the research team identfed fve overall motves behind their atacks: Personal—the overall motve for the ambush or unprovoked atack was for personal reasons (to accomplish a personal objectve, e.g., avoiding arrest). Expressive—the overall motve for the ambush or unprovoked atack was related to the ofender’s emotonality or experience of crisis—including suicidality. Economic—the overall motve for the ambush or unprovoked atack was for economic gain. Politcal—the overall motve for the ambush or unprovoked atack was politcal reasons, or to make a politcal statement. Social—the overall motve for the ambush or unprovoked atack was for social reasons. As a result of atacking the ofcer, an ofender stood to gain social standing within his circle. AMBUSHES and UNPROVOKED ATTACKS v In additon, researchers identfed micromotves from the ofenders’ interviews. Micromotves are defned as biopsychosocial infuences that set the stage for the ambush or unprovoked atacked. These infuences could include “the ofender’s worldview, or the actual needs, values, or desires that were involved” (Daniels et al., 2016, p. 252). Examples of the most common micromotves include: Street life (prior criminal involvement), Substance use (history of drug use), Prepared for batle (access to or obtaining weapons), Negatve background as a minor (partcularly family instability), Mental state (including cognitve reactons and remorse), and Escape (from the atack). Whatever the impetus for an ambush or unprovoked atack, it is not known ahead of tme, and such assaults seem impossible to mitgate. Even so, the analysis of the interviews LEOKA staf conducted with ofcers and ofenders found common subjects that can, at the very least, be discussed and, in some cases, addressed with training. LEOKA staf compiled a list of issues and training suggestons for ofcers. The discussion includes topics such as altered perceptual acuity, engaging ofenders, mental preparaton, communicaton, backup, and the will to survive. Ofcers also cited specifc trainings that they felt directly contributed to their survival. Several narratves describing ambushes and unprovoked atacks included in this study provide further insight into the situatons and reactons of both the ofcers and the ofenders. In eight of the cases reviewed, researchers were able to interview both the victm and/or witness ofcers and the ofenders who perpetrated the ambushes or atacks. Two in-depth case studies present the context surrounding each incident and the viewpoints of both the ofcer and the ofender. The presented perspectves demonstrate how diferent the ofcers’ perceptons of what happened were from the ofenders’ perspectves. The appendices present informaton about the methodologies used in the study, the LEOKA Program itself, and a discussion of human reactons to trauma. The last topic is partcularly useful to place the themes of this study in context. In the afermath of a traumatc event, such as being ambushed or involved in an unprovoked atack, humans respond on four primary levels: physiologically, psychologically, behaviorally, and spiritually. All of these aspects are interrelated, so a negatve response in one area may have a negatve impact in another area. Despite receiving injuries and being psychologically and spiritually traumatzed, people can develop efectve coping strategies by relying on the resources in their environment. Such resources may include family, friends, coworkers, the community, one’s religious/spiritual