Suicide by cop (SbC) occurs when an individual purposely engages in threatening behavior toward police officers in an attempt to be killed. Previous studies have found the prototypical SbC subject is male, mid-30s, with disrupted relationships, and mental health concerns, although these studies have almost exclusively relied on officer involved shootings or public information as sources of data.

1. Nancy Ryba Panza, Ph.D.
Professor, California State University, Fullerton
Alejandra Jordan, B.A.
California State University, Fullerton
Detective Charles Dempsey
Los Angeles Police Department
SUICIDE BY COP:
A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON AN OLD PHENOMENON

2. SUICIDE BY COP - THE PERCEPTION
• The Counted: are US police hiding behind “suicide by cop” The Guardian
2015
• Should I Stay or Should I Go? Police Magazine 2017
• Police have stopped responding to certain calls as ‘suicide by cop’ rates
climb. Law Enforcement Today 2019
• Calif. PDs fear 'suicide by cop' cases. So they've stopped responding to
some calls. LA Times 2019

3. DERBY CLIP NO. 2

4. SUICIDE BY COP - DEFINITION
• California Peace Officers Standards and Training
• - identifies a SbC when a subject “engages in behavior which poses an
apparent risk of serious injury or death, with the intent to precipitate the
use of deadly force by law enforcement personnel towards that
individual.”

5. SUICIDE BY COP: DEFINITIONAL ISSUES
SOURCE DEFINITION
Huston et al.
(1998)
Subject intentionally escalated an encounter and provoked officers to shoot them; an
“attempted” SbC incident is where subject sustains nonlethal firearm injury
Drylie & Violanti
(2008)
Incident involving use of deadly force by LE agency in response to provocation of a
threat/use of deadly force
Mohandie et al.
(2009)
Method of suicide that occurs when subject engages in threatening behavior in an attempt to
be killed by police
Lord
(2000)
Individual threatens verbally or behaviorally their desire to be killed when confronted by
police
CA POST
(1999)
Subject engages in behavior which poses an apparent risk of serious injury or death, with
the intent to precipitate the use of deadly force by LE personnel towards that individual

6. SUICIDE BY COP: THE LITERATURE
• Quite limited
• Most done between late-1990s and early 2000s
• Essentially covers three areas:
• Discussions of what is/is not SbC
• Reviews of OIS cases to determine the frequency with which SbC occurs
• Reports of the characteristics of SbC incidents and the individuals
involved

7. SUICIDE BY COP
AMONG OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING CASES
• Kris Mohandie, Ph.D.; J. Reid Meloy, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.; and Peter I. Collins, M.C.A., M.D., F.R.C.P.(C)
• 2009 – Mohandie and Meloy presented their findings at the Association of Threat Assessment
Professionals (ATAP) Annual Conference
• 97% of the time the suicidal individual is successful in soliciting an application of force
• Typologies
• Direct Confrontations
• in which the suicidal subjects initiated attacks on police;
• Disturbed Interventions
• where potentially suicidal subjects took advantage of the police intervention to attempt a
SbC;
• Criminal Interventions
• in which subjects facing arrest preferred death to submission.

8. SUICIDE BY COP: THE RESEARCH
STUDY SAMPLE SOURCE FINDINGS
Hutson et al.
(1998)
N = 437 LA Sheriffs
all OIS from 1987-1997
13% of fatal OIS and 11% of all OIS were SbC
Kennedy et al.
(1998)
N = 240 Newspaper sources
all police shootings 1980-1995
16% probable/possible SbC; 69% of cases
results in death
Homant et al.
(2000)
N = 123 Mostly news sources, secondary
data sources
22% suicide successfully averted
Homant & Kennedy
(2000)
N = 143 Same as above, with 20 additional
cases added
Created typology of SbC cases
Lord
(2004)
N = 64 NC agencies,
SbC cases only
16 were killed by police, 5 committed suicide,
43 survived, 33% lethality
Mohandie et al.
(2009)
N = 707,
SbC = 437
Various agencies in US & CA,
OIS cases 1986-2006
36% of OIS were SbC; 5% kill self,
51% of SbC were killed, 40% injured
Mohandie & Meloy
(2011)
N = 21*,
SbC = 12
Various agencies in US & CA,
OIS cases 1986-2006 (female only)
3% of all OIS cases, 5% of SbC cases; 57% of
women were SbC

9. SUICIDE BY COP: THE RESEARCH
• Mohanie, Reid, & Meloy (2009) - largest study to date
• N = 707 OIS cases from 90 agencies in US and Canada from1986-2006
• 110 variable codebook: incident characteristics, subject data, outcomes
• n = 256 for SbC (36% of all OIS)
• 51% killed by police, 7% killed self,
• 97% chance of injury to subject
• Found many incidents not planned, but reactionary
• Important findings: very few cases without use of lethal force; looking at OIS data may create
sampling bias toward those more desperate and does not include those more ambivalent

10. SUICIDE BY COP: THE RESEARCH
• Homant & Kennedy (2000) - Typology of SbC Cases:
• Direct Confrontations: subject initiates an attack on police
• Disturbed Interventions: potentially suicidal subject takes advantage of police intervention
• Criminal Interventions : subject facing arrest prefers death to submission
• Data on Typologies:
Homant & Kennedy (2000) Mohandie et al. (2009)
Direct Confrontations 30% 16%
Disturbed Interventions 57% 20%
Criminal Interventions 12% 64%

11. THE PRESENT STUDY: METHODS
• Data derived from Los Angeles Police Department’s Mental Evaluation Unit
(LAPD MEU)
• Permission was obtained from Mohandie, Meloy, and Collins (2009) to use
and adapt the 110-variable codebook used in their prior studies
• Adapted codebook for present study contained 85 variables divided into
three categories: the Incident, the Subject, and the Outcome
• All reports were retrieved and coded onsite at LAPD headquarters

12. SUICIDE BY COP – TRACKING AND MANAGEMENT
• 2005 Los Angeles Police Department Case Assessment Management
Program
• Established a system of tracking and management of high risk and high recidivist
individuals encountered by uniformed patrol officers
• The ultimate goal of the CAMP is to prevent a violent confrontation between
emergency service personnel and individuals suffering from a mental
illness.
• This is accomplished by developing innovative prevention minded
strategies linking these individual to mental health services.

13. THE PRESENT STUDY: RESULTS
• All cases in MEU database marked SbC between 2010-2015 were reviewed
• Sample: N = 419
• 533 cases identified
• 114 cases were not included: not SbC, narrative too short to code, repeat cases
• Present the results alongside the Mohandie et al. (2009) findings
• See the outcomes of our findings
• See the comparison of the largest sample of OIS/SbC cases
• Note the similarities and differences across the variables

14. • SUMMARY OF DEMO
• Comparison to Mohandie et al. (2009)
DEMOGRAPHICS
Mohandie, Meloy & Collins Present Sample
Date Range for Cases 1998-2006 2010-2015
Source of Data OIS Cases
Multiple Agencies
MEU “SbC” Cases
One Agency
Total Sample N = 707, n = 437 SbC cases N = 419
Gender - Male 95% 83%
Age M = 35 (SD = 10)
Range = 16-76
M = 38 (SD = 13)
Range = 14-76
Ethnicity
Caucasian
Black
Hispanic
Asian/Pacific Islander
Other or unknown
41%
16%
26%
2%
14%
31%
23%
37%
4%
5%
Homeless 29% 24%

15. MENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS
Mohandie, Meloy & Collins Present Sample
Prior Mental Health Hospitalization 21% 40%
Current Psychiatric Care 21% 28%
Prior/Current Psychiatric Medication 29% 38%
Confirmed and Probable Diagnosis 62% 67%
Diagnosis Type Depression/Mood 48%
Substance Abuse 17%
Thought Disorder 15%
Personality Disorder 3%
Depression 14%
Bi-Polar 16%
Schizophrenia 19%
Anxiety 1%
PTSD 3%
Psychotic During Incident 20% 25%
Under Influence During Incident
*For all MH variables there were many cases missing data
Alcohol 36%
Meth 16%
Alcohol 18%
Illicit 10%

16. INCIDENT INDICATORS
Mohandie, Meloy & Collins Present Sample
Spontaneous Contact with Police 81% 69%
Deliberate Contact with Police 17% 28%
Setting Residence
Open Air
Business
46%
38%
11%
47%
23%
11%
Call Type Domestic Violence
Observed Event
Person with Gun/Knife
Suicidal Subject
Robbery in Progress
Traffic Stop
Unknown Disturbance
Assault/Deadly Weapon
Mentally Ill Subject
Assault
15%
14%
15%
8%
6%
5%
5%
5%
4%
2%
8%
8%
5%
23%
2%
1%
2%
5%
28%
1%

17. INCIDENT INDICATORS
Mohandie, Meloy & Collins Present Sample
Verbal Suicidal Communication 61% 89%
Verbal Threats 70% 38%
Behavioral Threats 98% 43%
Armed
Firearm
Knife
Blunt Force Object
80%
60%
26%
2%
25%
4%
16%
1%
Aggression 90% 61%

18. POLICE TACTICS & OUTCOMES
Mohandie, Meloy & Collins Present Sample
No Force 1% 81%
Less Lethal Force 7% 17%
Lethal Force 92% 2%
Subject Death 51% 1%
Subject Injury 40% 3%
Injury to Officers 16% .2%
Arrest 43% 13%
Hospitalization 7% 82%

19. TYPOLOGY OF SBC CASES
Homant & Kennedy
(2000)
Mohandie et al.
(2009)
Present Study
(2017)
Direct
Confrontations
30% 16% 28%
Disturbed
Interventions
57% 20% 56%
Criminal
Interventions
12% 64% 16%

20. SUICIDE BY COP: CONCLUSIONS
• If we look through this broader lens, do we see the same results?
• Yes and No!
• Subject characteristics are similar. Outcomes are quite different.
• Should we be looking more broadly? Are these cases still SbC?
• Yes. Get a more realistic perspective of outcomes.
• Yes. Not all OIS are SbC, and not all SbC are OIS!
• Are there variables that differentiate between those incidents that are resolved without
use of deadly force and those that end in a shooting?
• Yes.
• They are what they should be: factors related to threats, aggression, etc.

21. SUICIDE BY COP – LETHAL INCIDENTS
• Behaviors present in 100% of Lethal Force Incidents
• Behavioral Suicidal Indicators 100%
• Behavioral Threats 100%
• Armed 100%
• Aggression 100%
• Resistance 100%
• Noncompliance 100%

22. SUICIDE BY COP – LETHAL INCIDENTS
• Spontaneous Contact 29%
• Deliberate Contact 43%
• Harm to Others 57%
• Running as Escape Behavior 14%
• Suicidal Communication 14%
• Verbal Threats 57%
• Asking to be Shot 14%
• Verbal Will to Die 29%
• Inconsistent Escape Behavior 14%

23. SUICIDE BY COP – TACTICAL MANAGEMENT
• Person in crisis – suicide
• The concept of ABC relates to a person in a crisis
• Antecedents/triggers
• loss of significant person, place or thing
• Beliefs
• how the person perceives what has happened
• Consequences
• how they react - behave

24. DERBY CLIP NO. 3

25. SUICIDE BY COP – CRISIS COMMUNICATION
• Crisis Communications Techniques
• Mental, Emotional, and Physical – a person in crisis
• Employ Active Listening Skills
• Listen, Empathize, Ask, Paraphrase, Summarize
• Tone, Atmosphere, Communication, Time

26. SUICIDE BY COP – SCENE MANAGEMENT / PLAN
• Scene management concepts
• Distance and Cover = Time
• Time, Space, Background Information
• Containment vs Control
• Tactical Disengagement
• Balance Test – similar to pursuit disengagement
• Is it legal
• Doe vs Modesto (special relationship)-Special Relationship
• Adams v. City of Fremont, 80 Cal.Rptr.2d 196 (Cal. App. 1998) Duty to
prevent suicide
• Disengage with a Plan

27. SUICIDE BY COP –
DEPARTMENT POLICIES/TRAINING BULLETINS
• Portland Police Bureau - 0850.20 Police Response to Mental Health Crisis –
ROADMAP
• R – Request specialized units,
• O - Observe or use Surveillance to monitor subject or situation,
• A – Area Containment (perimeter, containment),
• D – Disengage with a plan to resolve later,
• M – More Resources/Summon Reinforcements,
• A – Arrest Delayed (get a warrant, or try different time/place),
• P – Patience. Use time and communication to attempt to de-escalate the subject.

28. SUICIDE BY COP –
DEPARTMENT POLICIES/TRAINING BULLETINS
• Los Angeles Police Department
• Tactical De-Escalation Techniques - PATROL
• P - Planning
• A - Assessment
• T - Time
• R - Redeployment and/or Containment
• O - Other Resources
• L - Lines of Communication
• Barricaded Subject/Suspects (criminal v. non-criminal)

29. SUICIDE BY COP –
DEPARTMENT POLICIES/TRAINING BULLETINS
• Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department -
• TERMS AND REFERENCES RELATED TO CALLS INVOLVING ALLEGED
MENTALLY ILL PERSONS
• DISENGAGEMENT
Disengagement is the tactical decision to leave, delay contact, delay custody, or
plan to make contact at a different time and under different circumstances. This
tactic should be considered when continued contact may result in an undue safety
risk to the mentally ill person, the public, and/or Department members. The decision
to exercise this option can be initiated by the field unit but requires consultation with
the field sergeant on scene, and shall have the concurrence of the watch
commander.

30. SUICIDE BY COP – TRAINING GUIDE
• Suicide by Cop:
• Protocol and Training Guide
• Poorly written and misstates the findings of the SbC study!!!!!!!!!

31. WHAT HAPPENED TO GEORGE DERBY?
• Derby Clip No. 1

32. • QUESTIONS?