title: Suicide by cop among female subjects in officer-involved shooting cases.
abstract: An analysis of suicide by cop (SBC) among female subjects in a large sample (n = 707) of officer-involved shootings (OIS) is reported. Women represented 3% of the total sample (n = 21) and 5% (n = 12) of the 256 SBC cases. Therefore, 57% of the women (n = 12) were classified as SBC, and 81% of the women (n = 17) behaviorally evidenced some suicidal motivation. The results underscore that when a female subject becomes involved in a situation leading to an OIS, there is a very high likelihood that she is motivated to be intentionally killed. She is almost guaranteed to have a diagnosed mental disorder, has been prescribed psychiatric medications, and is abusing a substance at the time, most likely alcohol. Nevertheless, she also poses a serious risk of injury to both police officers and civilians during the encounter and will possess a firearm half the time. The wish for suicide is often precipitated by serious relationship issues. Comparisons are made to the male subjects in our previous study.
authors.affiliation: Operational Consulting International, Inc., P.O. Box 88, Pasadena, CA 91102, USA. mohandie@earthlink.net
authors.forename: Kris
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mohandie
authors.forename: J Reid
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Meloy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care / Q000191:economics; D002655:Child Custody; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009656:North America; D016495:Police; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014754:Violence; D054041:Weapons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult