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Suicide by cop / Police: Layton drywaller likely sought tragic end; in fact, 36% fatally shot by officers seek death, new national study says
By JESSE FRUHWIRTH
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
LAYTON -- New national data suggests that so-called suicide-by-cop deaths account for as many as a third of all officer-involved shootings, and an investigator of one of Utah's most recent officer-involved shootings says that probably was the case in a Layton incident in February.
Suicide by cop is an unofficial phrase that describes situations in which a subject threatens law enforcement officers in hopes of being killed.
In the most recent issue of the Journal of Forensic Sciences, a former Los Angeles Police Department psychologist and two other researchers found that, of 707 officer-involved shootings reviewed, 36 percent were suicide by cop.
In another 5 percent of those cases, the subject either completed or attempted suicide.
"Therefore, 41 percent of the ... subjects in the overall sample evidenced suicidality: intending, attempting or actually committing suicide during the encounter (with police)," the study says.
A formal conclusion in the case of laid-off drywaller Jeffrey Jay Cramer, 36, of Layton, has not been issued.
Investigators say, however, the most crucial aspects of the investigation are complete and the officers were justified in their actions.
Layton Police Sgt. Jason Hinojosa and officer Anthony Yuen, two officers who responded to Cramer's residence and fatally shot him Feb. 26, went back to work this week.
Hinojosa has been with the department since 1998, Yuen since 2001. Both work in the traffic division.
Police said Cramer exited his house with a loaded shotgun and had extra ammunition in his pocket.
Hinojosa and Yuen ordered Cramer to drop the gun, police said, but Cramer instead fired a shot in their direction. He was shot at by both, but police have not said how many shots were fired nor how many hit Cramer.
Ballistics reports and the medical examiner's report could clear up that uncertainty.
Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings, who is in charge of assessing whether the officers broke the law, said those two reports are the only items missing from the file.
"Based upon what our office knows and what I have reviewed at this point, it appears to me to be a reasonable decision for Layton to have the officers return to work," he said.
Rawlings said a formal statement clearing the officers of any criminal wrongdoing will be made when the file is complete, which could be several weeks away.
Centerville police investigated the Cramer shooting.
It's difficult to determine for certain that Cramer was attempting suicide by cop, "but it appears that way," said Centerville Sgt. Von Steenblik.
"It's hard to say that was his absolute intent where he didn't verbally state that and didn't leave a note, but it really points in that direction."
Cramer had made comments in the past about suicide, he said.
"He did look at making some changes to his life insurance policy, but never followed through with that," Steenblik said.
Life insurance exclusions -- or people's misconception of them -- may partially explain the suicide-by-cop phenomena.
Two of the same researchers published this month in the Journal of Forensic Sciences wrote in a 2000 paper that those who seek suicide by cop sometimes are "hoping to avoid the exclusion clauses of life insurance policies."
Eric Checketts, an insurance agent at American Family Insurance in Syracuse, said mature policies will not exclude those who commit suicide.
However, he said, he's unaware whether insurance companies pay for suicide by cop within two years of the policy being signed.
"Each insurance company at that point may or may not (pay). It would be up to the claims adjuster that handles the situation as well as the company ... and their policies," Checketts said.
Researchers also noted that some subjects rationalize that suicide by cop resolves a spiritual problem presented by suicide.
Others may be trying to save face by being forcibly overwhelmed rather than surrendering, have intense power needs, want to draw attention to an important personal issue or want revenge.
