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Police officers who commit suicide by cop: a clinical study with analysis
Elizabeth A Arias1, Louis B Schlesinger, Anthony J Pinizzotto
1Department of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, 445 W. 59th St, New York, NY 10019, USA. earias@gc.cuny.edu
Abstract:
Suicide by cop has become a familiar topic among members of law enforcement, mental health professionals, and the general public. This paper presents two cases where police officers chose to commit suicide by getting other police officers to kill them. The two police officers studied, by examination of closed case files, were found to be similar to civilians who committed suicide by cop on several demographic (gender, age, history of mental illness, and suicide attempts), and situational (stress factors, trigger) variables. The cases help us to understand possible motives and management for individuals who choose to end their life in this manner.
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