Data on suicide were extracted from the 1985 National Mortality Detail File computer tapes. These data are the product of the first coordinated effort at collecting a national database on occupation and suicide in over 35 years. Data were collected for all 16 States that reported the occupational status of the deceased. Police suicide was compared to the suicide rate of adult males of working age. The study used a multivariate logistic regression analysis to explore the odds of death from suicide compared to natural causes for police officers relative to the rest of the general population, with alternative predictors of suicide controlled. Findings show that police in public agencies have a suicide rate slightly higher than their age-matched male peers; however, the results of a logistic regression analysis found that once controls were introduced for socioeconomic variables, being a police officer was not significantly associated with the odds of death by suicide. The results challenge the dominant assumption that police have a higher suicide rate than those in many other professions. This article concludes with an explanation of why these results must be viewed with caution. 2 tables and 56 references