According to a recent study, perhaps as many as 1/10 of all
suspects fatally shot by police officers are
suicidal and have committed their crimes with the
intention of being killed by the police. The
majority of people who choose to commit
suicide in this fashion are
males, which seems to fit the
trend of males using more
violent methods to commit suicide than females. An
uncharacteristically large percentage of them have a history of
domestic violence and
drug and
alcohol abuse.
Approximately one-half of individuals who end their life in this manner threaten the police with a real loaded firearm. About 20 percent use replica firearms.
Suicide by cop is on the rise. Police consider this an especially undesirable method of suicide because of the psychological impact it has on the officers involved. Many police are now aware of the problem and try to use nonlethal force when possible.