Traffic stops represent a significant portion of law enforcement interactions with the public. Despite technological and procedural advancements, the unpredictability of encounters can pose substantial risks to police officers , which is largely ignored in empirical research. Two research studies were conducted to determine the profile of officers feloniously killed in traffic stops from 1990 to 2020 and the required educational components of states with the highest and lowest number of fatal traffic stops.¹A distinction was also made between traffic stops and felony traffic stops, with traffic stops being proactive actions by officers without prior knowledge of a serious crime and felony traffic stops occurring when officers have an awareness that the occupants of the vehicle may have been involved in a current or prior felony crime. Data was retrieved from the Officer Down Memorial Page, the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted database, publicly available court documents, news stories, online obituaries, and law enforcement–related informational websites. The comprehensive datasets provided insights into the circumstances surrounding police officer deaths, including demographic details, incident specifics, and training protocols.

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