Between 1987 and 1996, 31 police officers were killed in Missouri in the line of duty, an average of 3.1 per year. Of the 31, 18 (58.1 percent) were killed by felonious acts, 16 (88.9 percent) by firearms, and 2 by another weapon (vehicles). In 1996, one police officer was feloniously killed and another died as a result of an accident or by negligence. In addition, 2,367 assaults were committed against police officers. Of the assaults, 23 percent resulted in injury to a police officer. An estimated 26.3 police officer assaults occurred for every 100 police officers. Physical force was used by the assailant in 82.4 percent of police officer assaults in 1996, while a weapon of some type was used in 17.6 percent of cases. Missouri law enforcement agencies reported 15,684 persons were employed full-time in 1996. Of this figure, 71 percent were sworn police officers and 29 percent were civilians. In 1996, there were 2.1 sworn police officers per 1,000 population. 20 tables and 6 figures