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Attacks on law enforcement increased, but fewer were killed in 2023, according to new federal data
Washington — Sixty law enforcement officers across the country were killed in the line of duty last year — a decrease of one from the year prior — but assaults on officers in the field are on the rise, driven by increases in gun violence, according to an FBI report released Tuesday.
The statistics were collected from law enforcement agencies across the country — including state, local, and tribal precincts — and showed a slight decrease in overall officer deaths, continuing the downward trend from the recent high in 2021 of 73 officers killed in the line of duty.
Still, according to the report, the last three years (2021-2023) saw the highest collective number of law enforcement deaths “than any other consecutive 3-year period in the past 20 years.”
In all, 52% of the officers who were killed in the line of duty died from a gunshot wound in 2023, a slight increase from 2022, and firearms were the most commonly used weapons. More officers were killed in the South, which is the largest region in the country, than in any other part of the U.S., the FBI said, although the South did see a significant decrease in overall officer deaths — 20 in 2023 compared to 32 in 2022.
An FBI officIal told reporters Tuesday that although the number of officers killed in action over the last three years has dropped, there has at the same time been a steady rise in assaults on law enforcement. The official said the FBI is working to understand the underlying reasons for that inverse trend.
Based on preliminary data, according to the report, “10,884 agencies employing 600,120 officers reported 79,091 assaults of officers, indicating a rate of 13.2 assaults per 100 officers.”
In 2023, the number of law enforcement officers assaulted by firearms reached about 466, a 10-year high, the FBI said.
The report’s release comes as the nation marks National Police Week. On Monday night, Attorney General Merrick Garland and other law enforcement leaders attended a candlelight vigil on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to honor fallen law enforcement officers throughout the country.
Last month, four members of a U.S. Marshals Service task force were shot and killed trying to arrest a fugitive wanted for firearms charges. In all, eight officers were shot.
One suspect died on the scene and two others were taken into custody.
Speaking at a memorial for Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks, one of the fallen, earlier this month, Garland said the officers’ deaths “stand as a stark reminder of the enormous risks our law enforcement officers face every day, even when making the relatively routine arrests they make every day.”
“Every day our law enforcement officers go to work knowing that day may be their last. Every day their families send them off to work, praying it will not be.”
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A food company known for popular grocery store condiments has recalled a package of tortilla strips that may be contaminated with wheat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The product is meant to be gluten-free.
Sugar Foods, a manufacturing and distribution corporation focused mainly on various toppings, artificial sweeteners and snacks, issued the recall for the “Santa Fe Style” version of tortilla strips sold by the brand Fresh Gourmet.
“People who have a wheat allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product,” said Sugar Foods in an announcement posted by the FDA.
Packages of these tortilla strips with an expiration date as late as June 20, 2025, could contain undeclared wheat, meaning the allergen is not listed as an ingredient on the label. The Fresh Gourmet product is marketed as gluten-free.
Sugar Foods said a customer informed the company on Nov. 19 that packages of the tortilla strips actually contained crispy onions, another Fresh Gourmet product normally sold in a similar container. The brand’s crispy onion product does contain wheat, and that allergen is noted on the label.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
No illnesses tied to the packaging mistake have been reported, according to the announcement from Sugar Foods. However, the company is still recalling the tortilla strips as a precaution. The contamination issue may have affected products distributed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11 in 22 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Sugar Foods has advised anyone with questions about the recall to contact the company’s consumer care department by email or phone.
CBS News reached out to Sugar Foods for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
This is the latest in a series of food product recalls affected because of contamination issues, although the others involved harmful bacteria. Some recent, high-profile incidents include an E. coli outbreak from organic carrots that killed at least one person in California, and a listeria outbreak that left an infant dead in California and nine people hospitalized across four different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The E. coli outbreak is linked to multiple different food brands while the listeria outbreak stemmed from a line of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu-Shang Foods.