Cases That Test Your Skills

Suicide by cop: What motivates those who choose this method?

Current Psychiatry. 2017 May;16(5):47-52

References

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Individual suicide vs SBC

Religious beliefs. The term “religiosity” is used to define an individual’s idiosyncratic religious belief or personal religious philosophy reconciling the concept of death by suicide and the afterlife. Although there are no studies that specifically reference the relationship between SBC and religiosity, religious belief and affiliation appear to be strong motivating factors. SBC victims might have an idiosyncratic view of religion related death by suicide. Whether suicide is performed while under delusional belief about God, the devil, or being possessed by demons,¹³ or to avoid the moral prohibition of most religious faiths in regard to suicide,⁶ the degree of religiosity in SBC is an important area for future research.

Mr. Z stated that his strong religious faith as an Orthodox Christian motivated the attempted SBC. He tried to provoke the officer to kill him, because as a devout Orthodox Christian, it is against his religious beliefs to kill himself. He reasoned that, because his beliefs preclude him from performing the suicidal act on his own,^6,14 having an officer pull the trigger would relieve him from committing what he perceived as a sin.⁶

Lethal vs danger. Another difference is the level of urgency that individuals create around them when attempting SBC. Homant and Kennedy¹⁵ see this in terms of 2 ideas: lethal and danger. Lethal refers to the degree of harm posed toward the suicidal individual. Danger is the degree of harm posed by the suicidal individual toward others (ie, police officers, bystanders, hostages, family members, a spouse, etc.). SBC often is more dangerous and more lethal than other methods of suicide. SBC individuals might threaten the lives of others to provoke the police into using deadly force, such as aiming or brandishing a gun or weapon at police officers or bystanders, increasing the lethality and dangerousness of the situation. Individuals engaging in SBC might shoot or kill others to create a confrontation with the police in order to be killed in the process (Table¹⁶).

Instrumental vs expressive goals

Mohandie and Meloy⁶ identified 2 primary goals of those involved in SBC events: instrumental and expressive. Individuals in the instrumental category are:

attempting to escape or avoid the consequences of criminal or shameful actions
using the forced confrontation with police to reconcile a failed relationship
hoping to avoid the exclusion clauses of life insurance policies
rationalizing that while it may be morally wrong to commit suicide, being killed resolves the spiritual problem of suicide
seeking what they believe to be a very effective and lethal means of accomplishing death.

An expressive goal is more personal and includes individuals who use the confrontation with the police to communicate:

hopelessness, depression, and desperation
a statement about their ultimate identification as victims
their need to “save face” by dying or being forcibly overwhelmed rather than surrendering
their intense power needs, rage, and revenge
their need to draw attention to an important personal issue.

Suicide by cop: What motivates those who choose this method?

References

Individual suicide vs SBC

Instrumental vs expressive goals

Pages

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