Which term describes an incident in which a person intentionally provokes police to use deadly force to cause their own death?

• A. Consent decree
• B. Suicide by cop
• C. Police culture or police subculture
• D. Civil Rights Act of 1964

Answer: (B)

Suicide by cop describes an incident where a person deliberately provokes police to use deadly force to cause their own death. It often involves threatening or displaying a weapon, or otherwise escalating a confrontation with officers with the intent of being killed by law enforcement. The term captures the speaker's calculated choice to end their life through a police shooting, rather than through self-inflicted means alone, and it has implications for officer safety, crisis intervention, and scene de-escalation. The other options refer to very different ideas—a consent decree is about court-ordered reforms of a department; police culture describes the beliefs and practices shared within a police organization; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is federal legislation addressing discrimination. Therefore, the described phenomenon best fits suicide by cop.