Police: N.J. man torched own car to bait officers in ‘suicide-by-cop’ attempt

A Toms River man is accused of setting his car on fire early Friday in an attempt to draw police to the parking lot of a Bayville restaurant.

Thomas Foti, 26, planned to confront responding officers with a large knife in the hopes of committing "suicide by cop," the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and Berkeley Township Police Department said in a joint news release.

Foti's plot was foiled when he forgot to take the knife out of his car before he set the vehicle ablaze around midnight in the parking lot of Bubbakoo's Burritos, police said.

He instead fled, arming himself with a pointed shard from a flower pot he broke at a nearby florist, and phoned a suicide prevention hotline, according to investigators.

Officers soon encountered Foti, still carrying the shard, near the Walgreens on Atlantic City Boulevard, according to authorities.

Police said they showed "tremendous restraint" in subduing him without incident and taking him into custody.

Further investigation revealed Foti allegedly bought two small gasoline containers from a Hess station, doused his hat with gasoline, and lit the hat on fire before throwing it toward his car, according to investigators.

Police said that, before he fled the scene, he told witnesses he intentionally ignited the vehicle.

A judge set Foti's bail at $150,000 after he was arraigned on a charge of aggravated arson.

Foti was then taken to Community Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation, police said.