Doetinchem man with toy gun wanted to commit 'suicide by cop'

Jesse D. wanted to commit 'suicide by cop' when he walked around with a toy gun in the center of Doetinchem in August last year, was revealed in the court in Zutphen on Friday. The 22-year-old man was shot three times by the police, but survived the incident, De Gelderlander reports.

The Prosecutor demanded 258 days in prison and institutionalized psychiatric treatment with conditions against the man on Friday.

The shooting happened on Grutstraat on August 29th. D.'s troubles started three days earlier, when he stole an iPhone at MediaMarkt and was caught, according to the newspaper. He was taken to a police station. The young man suddenly saw his future slip away - he just started vocational training for security - and did not want to face his parents and girlfriend. He wanted to die, and decided that being shot by police officers was the way to do it.

So shortly after midnight on August 29th, he walked on Grutstraat with a toy gun and called the police. Responding officers saw him coming towards them with a drawn pistol. He did not respond to orders or warning shots, so the officers shot him. They deliberately aimed for his legs, to save his life. "I took a risk, because he could have shot us from the ground", one of the officers said in court. D. was hit in the legs and in the abdomen.

It only later turned out that he had a toy gun - it looked like a real pistol of the brand Walter P99.

It was also revealed in court that D. tried something similar in Winterswijk in 2015. Then he attacked officers with a crossbow.

The court will rule on this case in two weeks.