Assaults on police officers are an issue that has received much attention in criminological literature throughout the years. However, few studies have attempted to investigate the micro-level interactions between an assaulted officer and his/her assailant. Consequently, there are a lot of unknown factors that likely contribute to and influence the assaultive behavior on police. The purpose of this study was to explore the social/psychological characteristics of police officers as they realate to assault. More specifically, an officer's perception of his/her occupational role, attitude/opinion towards citizens, and level of authoritarianism were examined to see if these factors contribute to the likelihood and/or frequency of assault. Survey research, employing a combination of convenience and snowball sampling techniques of 133 municipal police officers from 8 departments throughout 4 counties in New Jersey, was used. Simple linear regression analyses discovered statistically significant relationships between both an officer's perception of his/her occupational role and his/her attitude/opinion towards citizens and assault. Officers who perceived their job functions as public servants and viewed citizens in a more benign, positive manner were less likely to experience most types of assaults. Results may provide support to emphasize more community policing in departments, and the improvement of police-citizen/community relationships may prove beneficial.