Thanks to reality television, we have all seen the police chases that end up with someone sitting in a car with several police officers poised around them with guns drawn. Fortunately, most of these cases end up in a peaceful resolution with the suspect being arrested and no one being injured. However, more and more often, these cases end up with a fatal result based on the actions of the perpetrator that provokes the officers into lethal action. Have you ever wondered why someone, who obviously has no chance of escape, would invoke the officers into having to fire a single shot? A rational person would deduct that their chances of surviving such a decision would be slim at best. But still, someone makes the stupid move that results in their ultimate death or injury.

Maybe the reason for this is nothing more than a criminal bravado gone wild or maybe there are other reasons that an offender would provoke people who are better armed, better trained, and in a much better position to survive the altercation. "Suicide by Cop" is a moniker that has gained much attention in recent years, whereby persons will put themselves in a position with police officers that will lead to a lethal scenario that ends up with the offender's life being lost. Studies by the Annals of Emergency Medicine, Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians, have shown that these types of situations are clearly on the rise. After looking at 437 officers involved shootings, they determined that 46 or 11% of the shootings could be classified as suicide by cop situations.

In other words, there are people who simply cannot follow through on their intention to take their own life. They realized that by putting themselves in a position with a law enforcement officer that had lethal consequences, that the officer would respond with the amount of force that was consistent with their training and legal authority. In many of these police shootings, suicide notes have been found at the crime scene that spelled out the offenders intention to end their life and in some cases actually apologized to those anonymous police officers who simply had the misfortune to encounter the offender. In other cases, the weapons that have been brandished by the offender proved to be fake or other instruments that appeared to replicate a lethal weapon.

There are many explanations as to why someone would go to this extreme but the true reasons, as with any suicides may never be known. Many suicides are committed without rhyme or reason or any pre-warning that is detectable by those who are the closest to the despondent party. Traditional methods are still much more prevalent in suicide attempts, but this new ploy for someone to take their life must be of real concern to police officers everywhere.

A police officer's recognition of a lethal threat is based on many hours of training and practical exercises. But, when it comes down to it, it is nothing more than instinct whereby the basic rules of police work apply. Is this person a threat to the lives of the community or the police officer? If the answer is yes and the offender takes an action that would lead a prudent person to believe that those results were about to occur, the results are almost always fatal or cause serious injury to the offender and in some cases a police office. Those who wish to die by the hands of others know this and their wish is fulfilled. Unfortunately, those very same police officers have to live with the incident for the rest of their lives.