Tulsa Police: Officer-Involved Shooting May Be 'Suicide By Cop'

Tulsa homicide detectives are looking into the possibility that a officer-involved shooting was a case of "suicide by cop."

Officers were called to 61st and Lewis after a caller said a man was threatening to kill himself and burn down his apartment.

That call was the second one in 90 minutes for the same man.

The first time, officers say Bobby Sutton was calm and assured them he wasn't going to hurt himself or others, so they took no action and left.

The second call started out that way, but, had a much different ending.

4/3/2012 Related Story: Man Dies After Being Shot By Tulsa Police Officer Tuesday Evening

Officer say they talked to the 45-year-old Sutton through the door of his apartment for an hour and a half before he finally let them in.

They say he was calm, smoked a cigarette and made some calls, but then started talking irrationally.

They say when he realized he was going to be taken for an emergency detention in a mental health facility, he refused to go, then pulled a knife from his back pocket.

They say the five officers in the second-floor apartment tried to get out his way, but he got too close, so Officer David Rey fired one shot, killing Sutton. That was three hours after the 911 call.

"Everybody's trying to get out of the apartment, and that is a last resort," Tulsa Police Sgt. Dave Walker said. "The proximity of the straight-edged weapon to the officer is going to be relatively real close, well within the range that this individual could've done some harm."

Across the nation, police kill approximately 400 civilians each year, but how many of them are suicide by cop is hard to know, since it involves knowing the suspect's mindset. Estimates range from 100 to 300 people who intentionally get officers to kill them.

"What people don't understand is individuals like this, due to their high volume of helplessness and desperation, they have already made up their mind of what to do and it happens very quickly," Tulsa Police Detective Vic Regalado said.

"It's more prevalent in society than most people understand or know, that officers are being used by these individuals to end their lives."

Sutton's family told police he has a long history of mental illness, going off his medications, becoming erratic and expressing suicidal thoughts.

Officers were called to Sutton's apartment on March 21st because people worried he was suicidal, and police were called again March 28th for a disturbance, when the complex notified him he would have to move.

Officer David Rey is on routine suspension pending the criminal and internal investigations from last night's shooting.

In another case from two weeks ago, Officer J.C. Comstock, who shot and killed a man who was attacking a woman in her home, has been cleared by the Tulsa County District Attorney and the shooting was ruled justifiable.