Real and perceived danger in police officer assisted suicide

In order to determine the danger involved, 123 cases of police officer assisted suicide were collected from various sources and the contents analyzed. In 56 percent of the incidents, police or bystanders were threatened with lethal force, and in 22 percent an intermediate level of threat was present. In the remaining 22 percent of the cases there was no real danger, with the subject using an empty gun or a prop. These nondangerous incidents were typically perceived as more dangerous, and resulted in a slightly higher percentage of subjects being killed by police. The only variable that distinguished the nondangerous incidents—prior planning by the subjects—was unlikely to be useful for guiding police tactics in an actual situations.