Hutson H R, Anglin D, Yarbrough J, Hardaway K, Russell M, Strote J, Canter M, Blum B
Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Ann Emerg Med. 1998 Dec;32(6):665-9. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0644(98)70064-2.
"Suicide by cop" is a term used by law enforcement officers to describe an incident in which a suicidal individual intentionally engages in life-threatening and criminal behavior with a lethal weapon or what appears to be a lethal weapon toward law enforcement officers or civilians to specifically provoke officers to shoot the suicidal individual in self-defense or to protect civilians. The objective of this study was to investigate the phenomenon that some individuals attempt or commit suicide by intentionally provoking law enforcement officers to shoot them.
We reviewed all files of officer-involved shootings investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department from 1987 to 1997. Cases met the following criteria: (1) evidence of the individual's suicidal intent, (2) evidence they specifically wanted officers to shoot them, (3) evidence they possessed a lethal weapon or what appeared to be a lethal weapon, and (4) evidence they intentionally escalated the encounter and provoked officers to shoot them.
Suicide by cop accounted for 11% (n=46) of all officer-involved shootings and 13% of all officer-involved justifiable homicides. Ages of suicidal individuals ranged from 18 to 54 years; 98% were male. Forty-eight percent of weapons possessed by suicidal individuals were firearms, 17% replica firearms. The median time from arrival of officers at the scene to the time of the shooting was 15 minutes with 70% of shootings occurring within 30 minutes of arrival of officers. Thirty-nine percent of cases involved domestic violence. Fifty-four percent of suicidal individuals sustained fatal gunshot wounds. All deaths were classified by the coroner as homicides, as opposed to suicides.
Suicide by cop is an actual form of suicide. The most appropriate term for this phenomenon is law enforcement-forced-assisted suicide. Law enforcement agencies may be able to develop strategies for early recognition and handling of law enforcement-forced-assisted suicide (suicide by cop). Health care providers involved in the evaluation of potentially suicidal individuals and in the resuscitation of officer-involved shootings should be aware of law enforcement-forced-assisted suicide as a form of suicide.
“警察诱导下自杀”是执法人员使用的一个术语，用于描述这样一种事件，即有自杀倾向的个体故意使用致命武器或看似致命的武器，对执法人员或平民实施危及生命和违法的行为，以特意激怒执法人员出于自卫或保护平民而开枪射杀该自杀个体。本研究的目的是调查一些个体通过故意激怒执法人员开枪射杀自己来试图自杀或实施自杀的现象。
我们查阅了洛杉矶县警局1987年至1997年调查的所有涉及警察开枪事件的档案。案例符合以下标准：（1）个体有自杀意图的证据；（2）他们明确希望警察开枪射杀他们的证据；（3）他们拥有致命武器或看似致命武器的证据；（4）他们故意激化冲突并激怒警察开枪射杀他们的证据。
警察诱导下自杀占所有涉及警察开枪事件的11%（n = 46），占所有涉及警察开枪的正当杀人事件的13%。有自杀倾向个体的年龄在18岁至54岁之间；98%为男性。有自杀倾向个体持有的武器中，48%是枪支，17%是仿真枪。从警察到达现场到开枪的中位时间为15分钟，70%的枪击发生在警察到达后30分钟内。39%的案例涉及家庭暴力。54%有自杀倾向的个体遭受致命枪伤。验尸官将所有死亡判定为杀人，而非自杀。
警察诱导下自杀是自杀的一种实际形式。这种现象最合适的术语是执法强制协助自杀。执法机构或许能够制定策略，以便早期识别和处理执法强制协助自杀（警察诱导下自杀）。参与评估潜在自杀个体以及参与涉及警察开枪事件复苏工作的医疗服务提供者应意识到执法强制协助自杀是自杀的一种形式。
