NCJ Number
214230
Editor(s)
Vivian B. Lord
Date Published
2004
Length
301 pages
Annotation
Experts in the fields of law, psychology, and police tactics instruct police officers in how to recognize, resolve, and deal with the aftermath of those occasions when an individual attempts to induce officers to shoot him/her as a means of committing suicide ("suicide by cop").
Abstract
Following a chapter that introduces the reader to the concept of suicide by cop (SbC) and the findings of current research on this subject, two chapters address the characteristics of SbC subjects and incidents. One chapter reviews SbC incidents in North Carolina, comparing those cases that were resolved without shooting the subject and those that were not. The second chapter examines the underlying causes and prevalence of lethal threats against police officers in Oregon, Washington State, and the Canadian Province of British Columbia that have been attributed to SbC. The next two chapters address legal issues involved in SbC incidents. One chapter discusses courts' determination of "objective reasonableness" under the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as it focuses on police shootings that have occasioned civil rights litigation under claims of police use of excessive force. The second chapter addresses post-SbC work that should be done in preparing an effective legal defense for the involved police officers. Six chapters focus on tactical and negotiation strategies in dealing with apparent SbC attempts. The topics discussed are negotiation with the subject, situational and tactical factors in successful and unsuccessful SbC incidents, the use of less-lethal force, strategies in barricaded situations for SbC and non-SbC subjects, subject behaviors that indicate imminent violence, and case management and psychosocial investigations of officer-involved shootings. The concluding two chapters examine the impact on and response to officers involved in SbC incidents. Chapter references and a subject index