Cop Suicide By Cop

Each year law enforcement officers throughout the county are involved in shootings, some of them fatal. Frequently the shootings are reported by the media, which exploits the feelings of the victim while ignoring the effect of the shooting on the police officer. It is “estimated that approximately 87 percent of all emergency service personnel will experience a critical incident at least once in their career, which include officer-involved shootings” (Kureczka, 2002, p. 18). Officer-involved shootings have a profound effect on not only the officer involved but also their spouses, families, and the departments they serve. Law enforcement officers that are involved in officer-involved shootings need support and assistance such as critical incident stress debriefing and sometimes long-term trauma recover therapy in order to cope and live successful lives beyond the critical incident of the shooting.

"More people in the general population die from suicide than homicide in North America. There are almost 11 suicide deaths each year for every 100,000 people living in the United States, and for every suicide, there are between 8 and 25 attempts" (Brent 4203). Based on this research, the great effect of suicide is displayed. According to dictionary.com, suicide can be defined as "the intentional taking of one's own life." Suicide is a major issue for all people, but it most obviously affects those ranging from ten to twenty-four. People need to understand the tremendous ramifications caused from suicide everyday; when people take their lives, others lose their loved ones. Suicide, one of the leading causes of death of numerous people each day, has reached a crisis point for adolescents and young adults, and it needs to be prevented.

The primary purpose of this term paper is to talk about police suicide and whether or not it is preventable. While police suicide is an huge issue, the public do not hear much about it nor have enough information. Therefore, it is important to let the public know that it is an issue by spreading awareness and creating prevention methods. Important questions that should be asked are : What is suicide? Why are police officers committing suicide? How many police officers are committing suicide? Can police suicide be prevented? Have guidelines been created in efforts to prevent police suicide? How does the suicide of an officer affect other officers?

Suicide among police officers is a dramatic example of what can happen when those entrusted with the protection of others fail to protect and care for themselves (Suicide and the Police Officer, 2006). Police officers tend to create an identify for themselves in order to seem powerful, in-charge, and unwavering in the line of duty, when in reality the persona that they create can lead to officers breaking down physically and mentally (McCord 368). After an officer joins the police force, they are expected to accept the fact that there will be violence and trauma in their line of work. There are no mental health checkpoints that officers are required to meet in order to continue working in these stressful conditions, forcing

"Suicide-by-cop" or "Police Assisted Suicide" are terms that have been the topic of conversation a little more than warranted these days. It seems that "suicide-by-cop" has been an ever growing phenomenon. The term "suicide-by-cop" is used to describe a suicidal person who consciously provokes police and engages in life-threatening behavior that will invoke or force a police officer to react with deadly force. This type of suicidal person relies on the decision of the police whether or not they live or die. The suicidal person may want to die or even have the intention to kill themselves, but cannot seem to bring themselves to take their own life. Some are afraid of the pain and others are just plain confused. So, they use the police as

To protect themselves from harm, police officers should have the capability to use lethal force. In August 2015, Goforth, a police officer in Houston, Texas, was shot fifteen times in his back and head. At age forty-seven, while pumping gas, someone took his life because he was venerable (Associated Press). Moreover, if police officers did not have the option to use lethal force, it would result in more police injuries or deaths. This would cause a decline in police officers, which would leave society without anyone to enforce laws. Because some people seek to harm police officers, lethal force is required to maintain their safety.

When a suicidal individual provokes a law enforcement entity to take his or her life, this is what is referred to as “suicide by cop” (DeSimilien, Okorafor, 2017). This is more common terminology in the law enforcement field. Basically, a person no longer wants to live but is unable to take their own life so they create a situation for someone else to do it. Unfortunately, this could be a dangerous situation for the law enforcement officer because he or she has no way of knowing if this individual is going to try to kill them as well. Dr. Marvin Wolfgang, who studies the acts of homicide and assaultive behaviors as mentioned in this week’s reading assignment when looking at the norms and values behind violent subcultures (Humphrey, Schmalleger,

When the terms police suicide and the suicide by cop come into question, there is a distinct difference between the two. Police suicide simply put is the act of a law enforcement officer taking their own life. Whereas, suicide by cop means to intentionally take one’s life by a cop. In the following paper, I will discuss the clear differences between the terms, and the issues associated with the scenarios.

Police shootings tore apart many communities this year. But law enforcement officers were also victims of violence. 124 officers were killed in the line of duty so far in 2016 (“Majority…” Par 1). Law enforcement officers have held together the fabric of America, serving our communities and protecting people from crimes, serving those in need, and setting standards of conduct (Buck, Par 4). All though most officers are shot and killed in the line of duty, in 2015, the number one killer of police officers is suicide, because of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from their job (“Police…” Par 3). The police use force, mainly to protect human life, the use of force against unarmed suspects is rare, and the use of force against black Americans

One might wonder if these programs and preventions have stabilized the rapid increase of police suicides. It would be intriguing to research more about the suicide preventions that have assisted police officers. This article did not only emphasized police suicides, but it stressed urgency of the assistance that our law enforcement communities are in need of. Practically the best solution is to work together as a “national effort,” especially during affliction through the law enforcement departments. (Id) The International Association of Chief Police (IACP) is not only trying to improve their programs in all departments, but to reach out to the officers. The reviewer hopes there will be a decrease in further law enforcement suicides and believes it will “benefit officers, agencies, and the communities [that are

There are numerous preventive strategies and measures that may be implemented in an effort to minimize or reduce the occurrence of suicide and suicidal ideation among law enforcement officers. In accordance with Loo (1999), police agencies should take a systematic approach and address the problem step-by-step.

“Look, suicide by cop isn’t the way to go. You have no idea what the repercussions are going to be, and all because you have it in your head that life isn’t worth living. Ask yourself about the one who’s going to have to pull the trigger. Imagine that unlucky SOB just doing his job and having

Our Nation`s Finest, Police, Cops, Law Enforcement, Officers-all revered titles describing the men and women who protect and serve our communities. Everyone views members of law enforcement as assured, strong, and decisive keepers of peace and protectors against crime and violence. When injustices occur, we “Call the Cops”, seeking immediate resolution and reinforcement. They come to our rescue; modern day heroes. We do not think of them as weak or indecisive. We have even empowered them with weapons for protection and allowances not available to the general public to assist in enforcement in “out of control” situations. In spite of his strength and resolve, there is one unmentionable plague that remains significant within the Brotherhood of officers. It is not discussed, it`s often disguised and hidden, and it is enabler is often an inadvertent side effect of the very nature of what makes an officer a great officer. It is suicide. As our society moves towards the future into the 2000`s many past taboo subjects in our culture have now become dinner table fodder. Sex-infidelity & orientation, teen pregnancy, and drugs are now commonplace subjects up for discussion. Yet for the people who work to protect us, who risk their lives daily for our wellbeing, discussion of officer suicide is just in the dawn of its age. Suicide rates in the Police force often are quoted as double that compared to the general populace, yet remain hidden behind secrecy and shame. We value and depend

The rookie/probationary period is tough for all involved. Both employer and employee are “getting used to each other” and the rookie is learning about their new job. In general, Police Officer Trainees/Recruits are evaluated by their superiors and will not be permanently hired if they are not able to do their job correctly (Stockton, California, 2015). Aside from what the new recruit may have learned from books or training, Mrs. Higa said that nothing could prepare her for all the death she witnessed. “The smells, the scene, the trauma, sometimes the lack of human contact that that poor person did not have – and no one knew they had passed away. Suicides

Countless numbers of officers have a hard time dealing with the stress they endure. As a result of not being able to deal with the negative pressures, some officers take their own lives by committing suicide. Suicide is the eight leading cause of death in the untied states. According to the Michael O’Neill since 1985 there have been 85 police suicides in the NYPD. In addition, about 75% of all officers accumulate some type of negative stress on the job (Eisenburg, 1975). Police suicide and police stress are two very important problems within police departments. It’s very important that as managers and researchers we try to mitigate this problem before it get out of control.