Suicide by cop
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Suicide-by-cop is a suicide method in which someone deliberately acts in a threatening way towards a law enforcement officer, with the main goal of provoking a lethal response (e.g., being shot to death). Such a person typically feels despondent and hopeless, but for whatever reason, doesn't want to take his/her own life directly.
The actual act has been described in news accounts from 1981, and scientific journals since 1985, although this particular phrase did not become common until the early 1990s. The phrase seems to have originated in the United States, but also appears in an article in the British newspaper The Guardian, dated May 10, 2003. The report states that a jury in a police-shooting inquest ruled it a suicide because on the scene, he reportedly stated "better get your guns out lads, I'm coming out" and a suicide note was later found. Some say that the 1976 death of Mal Evans was an example of this phenomenon.
Indicators include suspects that point an unloaded or non-functioning gun (such as a toy gun or starter's pistol) at officers. Suicide notes are obviously indicators, if present. Many law enforcement training programs have added sections to specifically address handling these situations.
The act has been featured in a number of motion pictures, including the 1993 film Falling Down and episodes of the CBS television drama Without a Trace and NBC drama "Law & Order: Criminal Intent". It was also featured in the novel The Outsiders.
Similar phrases include suicide-by-police, and officer- (or police-) assisted suicide. A veteran Canadian police officer researching the topic for his Master's thesis used the phrase Victim-Precipitated Homicide.
Literature
- Mark Lindsay and David Lester. Suicide by Cop: Committing Suicide by Provoking Police to Shoot You. ISBN 0-89503-290-2. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company, April 2004.
External links
- SuicideByCop.com—information and support (http://www.suicidebycop.com/)
- Results of one study of the phenomenon (http://www.usc.edu/hsc/info/pr/1vol4/434/shootings.html)
- A Rotten.com Timeline (http://www.rotten.com/library/death/suicide/suicide-by-cop/)
