June 11, 2024, Toronto, Ont. – Selected murders of Canadian police officers between 1980 and 2023 were studied by veteran officers and researchers for factors that contributed to their deaths.
The study found that most murdered officers weren’t young or inexperienced—many were considered veteran officers. A significant finding was that police were outgunned, and the majority of officers were killed by high-powered rifles which penetrated their soft body armour. Many officers were fatally wounded above or below the edges of their body armour. These findings emphasize the critical importance of effective cover/concealment.
The findings of this study indicated that the solutions to mitigating risk in police officer murders are to be found in terms of police policy, enhanced training and tactical responses.
In Dec. 2023, Blue Line released a summary of the review’s findings, which can be found here.
The full report is now available and can be accessed here.
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