Since 1986 POST staff has examined the circumstances that have led to every accidental death or felonious murder of a California peace officer. The Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted in the Line of Duty (LEOKA) Report was published every five years. After the release of the 2004 report staffing issues required the discontinuation of the program.   

In light of the increase of officers killed and assaulted over the past few years, POST has reinstituted the LEOKA program in order to identify critical training issues.  The underlying studies of these incidents, conducted by subject matter experts, identify trends and factors contributing to felonious and vehicle related officer deaths. The resulting data is documented in the LEOKA report and made available to training managers and the law enforcement community through the POST Learning Portal.   

The LEOKA program is identified as relevant to POST Strategic Plan Objective A.1.1, Identify and convey information on emerging trends to the field, and A.1.4, Enhance and continue study of driver training methods and vehicle related high risk activities to improve training and enhance safety.  

The Executive Director has approved the allocation of funds to reinstitute the LEOKA studies and report in an amount not to exceed $102,000.  The cost breakdown is described in Attachment A.  

The POST LEOKA Report provides law enforcement stakeholders with training recommendations based on real data. When incorporated into academy and in-service training, these recommendations can enhance officer safety and potentially save lives, making it a powerful risk management tool. 

To achieve this, POST works with the LEOKA Committee who are selected for their expertise in tactics, motorcycle operations, and emergency vehicle operations, as well as their experience in researching and reporting on these types incidents. 

Approximately one year after an incident, designated LEOKA committee members and POST staff personally visit each California agency that has suffered an officer death to assist them with the completion of a POST-developed survey. They also conduct in-depth research of the incident by visiting the scene, reviewing appropriate reports, and interviewing those with knowledge of the event.  From this information the LEOKA team generates a report that includes a summary of the incident, statistical data, conclusions, and training recommendations to discuss with the entire LEOKA committee.  An editor then reviews and edits the report, preparing it for publication. The sole purpose of the incident reviews is to identify valuable information to be incorporated into training to help prevent additional loss of life. 

In addition to the fatal incidents, four critical non-fatal incidents are selected for a detailed analysis including all contributing factors leading up to the incident (policies, training, and accountability) and how the after action and debrief was conducted. 

All of the incident studies and training recommendations are compiled in the LEOKA Report that is published and made available on the POST Learning Portal. 

Staff projects the new LEOKA Report to be completed and available in June 2016.