Man Shot By Tulsa Police Reportedly Attempted 'Suicide By Cop'

A Tulsa man is recovering after being shot by Tulsa police Tuesday night in what's often called “suicide by cop.”

Police say Nathan Boyd called a veteran's crisis line in New York, told them he wanted to die and was going to force officers to kill him.

The crisis counselors notified Tulsa police who found Boyd driving in east Tulsa about an hour later.

11/4/2014 Related Story: Police: Man Holding Handgun Shot At East Tulsa QuikTrip

Suicide by cop is happening so often that one study called it a rising tide that must be stopped.

Officers rarely know ahead of that it's the person's intent, but either way, the person's actions force officers to respond.

It's not only devastating for the suspect's family, but also on the officer who is used as an instrument of death.

Tuesday night's situation in an east Tulsa QuikTrip parking lot put a 19-year veteran of the Tulsa police department in a no win situation.

Boyd told a counselor he was going to force police to kill him.

11/5/2014 Related Story: Police Identify Man Shot By Officer Outside Tulsa QuikTrip

When the officer pulled Boyd over, they spent nine minutes giving him commands to show his hands and trying to talk him down, but Boyd didn't listen.

Instead, officers said Boyd made one gun visible by putting it on the dash and the second one he held up for the officers to see, and that's when an officer shot him.

Attorney Scott Wood has represented dozens of officers involved in shootings in the past two decades and said, "Since the early 90s, suicide by cop has tripled."

Wood said the new trend is especially worrisome.

He said there's not often enough time to call out negotiators or use non-lethal options, and choosing not to use deadly force is a life or death gamble.

"It's a situation where, to do anything other than what you're trained to do, is really betting another human life that something won't happen," Wood said.

A new study says one-third of officer-involved shootings are suicide by cop.

It says 95 percent of the time it's a man, and 80 percent of the time they have a loaded gun on them before they encounter police, or use a fake gun.

Even though family members often refuse to believe their loved one would hurt anyone else, the study says suicide by cop suspects are much more likely to hurt police and innocent bystanders.

Wood said, "Let's face it, if you know I'm going to kill myself, there's no ramifications for any actions you may take."

More than half of those who choose suicide by cop are killed, so the study urges family members and mental health professionals to be on high alert if someone mentions that's their intent.