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Suicide-by-cop researcher advocates alternatives to deadly force
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Rick Parent, 604.946.4411
Marianne Meadahl, Media & PR, 604.291.4323
Rick Parent, 604.946.4411
Marianne Meadahl, Media & PR, 604.291.4323
October 5, 2004
Rick Parent broke new ground with his master's research on police use of deadly force, a phenomenon now known as suicide-by-cop. His 1996 study focused on police shootings in B.C. His latest work -- which has earned him a PhD -- examines police use of deadly force across North America.
Parent found that at least one third of police shootings that occur across the continent are precipitated by the victim -- individuals who are typically predisposed to suicide or mental illness, and, in a calculated and deliberate manner, have forced a police officer to use potentially deadly force.
As a result of his studies, Parent advocates the need for alternative methods of controlling violent or potentially violent suspects, including the use of Taser guns and other alternatives to traditional firearms. “Training of police should continue to emphasize non-violent strategies in dealing with individuals who are suicidal, intoxicated or mentally ill, in order to reduce the likelihood that an encounter will lead to death by legal intervention,” he adds.
The veteran Delta police sergeant's PhD research is based on examinations of more than 400 police shootings in Canada and more than 400 others in the U.S. between 1980 and 2002. Police use of deadly force is rare in B.C. and, while the number of incidents is far greater south of the border, Parent found the dynamics of police shooting incidents are often identical.
Parent also interviewed police officers involved in the use of deadly force, and prison inmates who survived police shootings. His dissertation contains the most comprehensive analysis of police use of deadly force conducted in Canada, says SFU criminology professor Simon Verdun-Jones.
Parent, who receives his PhD during SFU's morning convocation ceremony Oct. 7, continues to be frequently sought out by the media as well as the courts as a leading expert in the field.
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(digital photo available)
Parent found that at least one third of police shootings that occur across the continent are precipitated by the victim -- individuals who are typically predisposed to suicide or mental illness, and, in a calculated and deliberate manner, have forced a police officer to use potentially deadly force.
As a result of his studies, Parent advocates the need for alternative methods of controlling violent or potentially violent suspects, including the use of Taser guns and other alternatives to traditional firearms. “Training of police should continue to emphasize non-violent strategies in dealing with individuals who are suicidal, intoxicated or mentally ill, in order to reduce the likelihood that an encounter will lead to death by legal intervention,” he adds.
The veteran Delta police sergeant's PhD research is based on examinations of more than 400 police shootings in Canada and more than 400 others in the U.S. between 1980 and 2002. Police use of deadly force is rare in B.C. and, while the number of incidents is far greater south of the border, Parent found the dynamics of police shooting incidents are often identical.
Parent also interviewed police officers involved in the use of deadly force, and prison inmates who survived police shootings. His dissertation contains the most comprehensive analysis of police use of deadly force conducted in Canada, says SFU criminology professor Simon Verdun-Jones.
Parent, who receives his PhD during SFU's morning convocation ceremony Oct. 7, continues to be frequently sought out by the media as well as the courts as a leading expert in the field.
-30-
(digital photo available)