Suicide by Cop

Suicide by cop (SbC) is a phenomenon confronted by police officers in which suicidal individuals behave in such a way as to force officers to use lethal force against them. Research findings have found common characteristics and behaviors among SbC subjects. The phenomenon is recognized sufficiently that there are a number of court decisions that are relevant to incidents that are defined as SbC. Finally, police officers often suffer psychologically after their involvement in SbC incidents. Their suffering must be addressed if they are not to have long-term effects.

Suicide requires an active decision to kill oneself. Such action may conflict with religious ideology, or the subject may fear societal stigma. Suicidal individuals also may fear pain and believe that the police officers' training in lethal force will ensure their instant death. Some of these individuals have a desire to die in a highprofile “blaze of glory.” Often, the decision of individuals to induce the police to use lethal force against them is impulsive. Emotionally distraught and under the influence of alcohol, many individuals form a cloudy decision to die only when the police arrive in response to a precipitating event such as a domestic dispute. Due to some of these conditions, suicidal subjects may become SbC subjects, inducing officers to kill them.

As with other suicidal behavior, the subject frequently is ambivalent about death. If the police can delay a confrontation, SbC subjects often are open to negotiation, especially if they become sober. Unfortunately, as found by studies conducted by the author, SbC subjects often place officers in situations in which they cannot get themselves or the victims in a safe place, so must shoot the SbC subjects. Also similar to other forms of suicide attempts, the behavior that often accompanies an SbC incident is an endeavor to cope with stressful life events by selfdestructive behaviors.

SbC subjects primarily are male, White, and more than 25 years old. They often have a mental illness history, including mood and personality disorders. Alcohol is used in a majority of the recorded SbC incidents, with a number of the individuals having a history of alcohol abuse. Subjects under the influence of alcohol overcome their inhibitions and are more impulsive and lethal. Often, anger and aggression are indicated by a number of past assault or domestic violence complaints, homicidal pre-incident conversations, and negotiation conversations that include injury to others.

Precipitating events to the SbC incidents often include the termination of a relationship and/or other family problems. SbC subjects have been known to attempt to use the incident as a means to coerce a significant other to remain in a relationship or for revenge against a significant other. Unlike other suicide victims, [Page 787]SbC subjects usually have significant others in their lives, although these others are often part of the problem. Outstanding criminal warrants on the SbC subject also are prevalent. They may state that they would rather die than return to prison.

Although early research in SbC focused on preparation by SbC subjects, more recent research done by the author has found that about half of the SbC incidents are impulsive rather than planned. About half of the SbC subjects, who she studied, had made some sort of statement or had a change in behavior that could be interpreted as presuicidal. These behaviors included writing and leaving a note, telling a therapist or significant other of what they were considering, and giving away possessions. Prior suicide attempts overall were not very prevalent; however, those who had attempted suicide in the past were more likely to be successful in their attempts in inducing police officers to shoot them.

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