In order to obtain a representative sample of police shootings, the authors reviewed an electronic library that contained full-text newspaper articles. Their objective was to identify a broad sample of accounts of police shootings in which potential cases of suicide by cop could be found. The authors found 240 articles suitable for analysis. Two experienced police officers with master's degrees in criminal justice rated the 240 incidents independently of each other. They cataloged the incidents into one of five categories: probable suicide, possible suicide, uncertain, and suicide improbable. The authors found evidence of probable or possible suicidal motivation in 16 percent of the 240 incidents. The researchers used three variables to assesses each of the incidents: lethality, circumstances, and precipitating events. The authors conducted a follow-up study because of the vague initial finding that suicidal motivation could be implicated in anywhere from 16 to 46 percent of the incidents. This cross-validation study found a similar range of 27 to 47 percent. The study establishes suicidal motivation as a significant factor in many police shootings. This has implications for police-community relations, the management of police stress, civil litigation against police officers for use of force in wrongful death actions, and police training. 1 table and 22 notes