Yellowstone: What is a 10-56 police code?

In Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 9, a tearful Jamie Dutton is given some bad news over the phone – but what does 10-56 mean? (Warning: spoilers ahead!)

And so begins the end. Yellowstone’s final six episodes has kicked off with a bang, beginning the conclusion of Taylor Sheridan’s Western spectacular. John Dutton is dead, found on his bathroom floor in what looks like a suicide scene.

But not all is as it seems, and it turns out Jamie Dutton’s sneaky girlfriend Sarah Atwood hired a hitman to take John out. However, before any of that is revealed, the Dutton children find out one by one what happened to their father in the night.

Jamie gets a call at his office to confirm the time and cause of death for John. He’s told his adopted father died at 3:53am, with the cause being a “10-56.” But what does this mean, exactly?

What’s a 10-56?

A 10-56 is police code for suicide, meaning Jamie is finding out that John Dutton supposedly killed himself during the night.

Police codes are used to transmit information over radios, with each code corresponding to a different meaning. 10-56 can also mean an intoxicated pedestrian, but in this instance, it’s referring to suicide as a cause of death.

Paramount

That’s why Jamie looks so rattled and breaks down after the call. It’s also understandable why he’s hesitant to tell Lynelle Perry (John’s ex-lover) the cause of death out loud, so he whispers it into her ear instead.

Either Jamie already suspects that something is amiss, or he’s genuinely distraught at the idea of John dying by suicide.

The reveal of 10-56’s meaning is held back for several scenes, making audiences wait for the confirmation of what police actually believe happened to John.

Did John Dutton really die by suicide?

John Dutton didn’t really shoot himself – he was murdered by a hitman hired by Sarah Atwood on behalf of Jamie, but it was made to look like a suicide.

In Season 5 Episode 8, Jamie was enraged by Beth coming into his house and attacking him. In a hushed conversation between him and Sarah (who works for Market Equities and is playing Jamie like a puppet), he asks if she knows any hitmen.

It’s hinted that he’s referring to killing Beth, who is simultaneously plotting the same thing against him, but clearly, Sarah has her own plans. A later scene in Episode 9 shows a flashback of her going to a mysterious company and meeting with a man named Grant.

The two discuss their options, and Grant advises that while there are many who could be blamed for John’s murder, suicide is the best option to avoid any investigation or suspicion.

Later, Kayce calls the police department and learns that the power on John’s street went out at around 3:50am, leaving behind no footage from the Governor’s mansion that evening. John’s time of death was declared to be around 3:53. It’s also revealed that fingerprints were found on his own gun, and there were powder burns on his hand.

By all accounts, the hitman staged a good scene, but it was no suicide.

Yellowstone Season 5 continues with Episode 10 on November 17.

For more, find out the full Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 release schedule. You can also learn more about Billy Klapper’s cameo, and see what’s going on with future spinoff The Madison.