Suicide risk and hostage/barricade situations involving older persons - police negotiation strategies for dealing with elderly people in crisis situations - Related article: Internet resources

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,The,  April, 2003  by Arthur A. Slatkin

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The "graying of America," a popular catch phrase, describes the present and forecasts the future demographic changes in the population of the United States. For any number of reasons, Americans are living longer. The number of older adults in this country doubled from 1950 to 1980. Today, 11 percent of the U.S. population is over 60 years of age; by 2030, estimates place that number at 25 percent. (1)

Increased longevity creates unique problems, challenges, and solutions for older persons. On the downside, rates of depression, alcohol and other drug abuse, and suicide, all germinal ingredients of crisis, are high for aging Americans. Lethal crises involving older persons likely will play out in the public sphere and be encountered by law enforcement officers. A range of critical incidents that may force a lethal response by police can include hostage taking, barricade situations, suicide threats, or police-precipitated suicide ("suicide by cop"), an increasing phenomenon. (2) In all cases, the subject likely is depressed, an alcohol or other drug abuser, and under the influence of such substances upon confronting the police. As this constellation acts to impair thinking and judgment and disinhibit impulses, violence may ensue and force a police crisis negotiator response.

In a study of 1,912 incidents of hostage taking or barricades, nearly 2 percent of the subjects were 65 years of age or older. (3) Some 13 percent previously had attempted suicide one or more times, and a significant number used alcohol or other drugs. Forty-eight percent used alcohol or other drugs during the incident, with alcohol being the overwhelmingly largest number (33 percent), and 44 percent had significant histories of substance abuse. In separate studies of suicide by cop, subjects were mostly male (94 to 96 percent), intoxicated (40 to 50 percent), depressed (60 percent), armed with firearms (46 to 63 percent), and previously had attempted suicide (38 to 50 percent). (4) With such data in mind, law enforcement officers must learn how to recognize the dangers that older persons may pose to themselves and to others in their communities.

CASE STUDY

A 77-year-old male called the 911 dispatcher and asked simply, "Is it against the law to commit suicide?" Judging by his speech and expansive manner, the dispatcher surmised that he was intoxicated. She heard his question as a cry for help. Investigation determined that the caller briefly had held his wife hostage at gunpoint. The wife had slipped out of the residence and called the police from a neighbor's apartment. As special weapons and tactics (SWAT) and hostage negotiation team (HNT) units assembled at the scene, the elderly man called 911. The dispatcher made the connection between his call and his wife's. Although not trained as a negotiator, the dispatcher established an immediate and healthy rapport with the now-barricaded man. Authorities decided to allow her to continue the negotiations from the radio room. The HNT leader and mental health consultant coached her when they arrived.

In negotiations that lasted nearly 2 hours, the man wove story after story about his times as a young soldier in World War II. His stories were interesting and amusing, but ultimately morose. They all related to guns and death. He was charming and engaging, and the dispatcher genuinely liked him. In turn, he praised her for being a good listener. He avoided any more talk of suicide, but showed no inclination to surrender. When pressed about his suicide intentions, he became agitated and angry. He admitted having a gun, but first evaded answering and then denied that he was going to kill himself "now." Negotiators believed that his risk for suicide was high. He voiced his frustrations with life and of the business from which he had just retired. After ventilating his strong depressive and angry feelings, he began to focus somewhat on his immediate situation. He gave the negotiator grudging assurances for his safety, but angrily asked, "Don't you believe me?" She replied, "You know cops, they only believe what they see, not what they hear." With that, he surrendered, and the incident ended safely.

CASE ANALYSIS

Wisely, the dispatcher heard the elderly man's call as a suicidal threat and a cry for help. A charming man, he engaged the young female dispatcher with stories and reminiscences of a time in his life when he was a young man at war--virile, indestructible, exhilarated, vulnerable, and scared. His whole life lay ahead of him. The war was a singular event, the highlight of his life, the best of times, and the worst of times. His present state of declining physical and emotional health, along with his current life's offerings and satisfactions, paled by comparison. Fifty years later, in the twilight of his life, he faced a struggle--for which few, if any, guidelines exist--to make sense, gain perspective, and integrate the war and other life experiences through a "life review." He struggled to make sense of the past, to make peace with the present, and to face the uncertain and inevitable future.