57 law enforcement officers killed in '07

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Fifty-seven law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty last year, the FBI announced Tuesday.

The 2007 total is up from 48 officers slain in 2006 but is in line with 55 killed in 2005 and 57 in 2004.

Of 62 alleged assailants last year, 58 had been previously arrested for crimes, 45 had been convicted, and 39 had been granted probation or parole, the report says. Nineteen were under current judicial supervision.

The figures show that 35 of the 57 officers killed belonged to city police departments. The killings occurred in cities of all sizes.

Last year, 67 percent of the attacks involved handguns, 18 percent rifles, 7 percent shotguns and 6 percent vehicles. Knives were used in fewer than 1 percent of the attacks.

The typical victim was a 37-year-old white male with 10 years of law enforcement experience, the FBI reported. Most of the victims were on assigned vehicle patrols when the attacks occurred, but in 11 cases, the officers were working undercover or were on other special assignments when they were slain.

The report says 47 of the victims were white, eight were black, and one was Asian. Of the alleged assailants, 35 were white, 24 were black, and three were Asian.

All of the victims and their assailants were male.

Felonious killings of officers peaked in 2001 with 70 deaths. That figure excludes the 72 law enforcement deaths resulting from the attacks of September 11.

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