Woman shot by DC police said she was 'ready to die.' Attempted suicide by cop?
When Renita Nettles approached a police officer brandishing a knife in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, she reportedly declared that she was "ready to die," according to court documents.
Police reports say the black 22-year-old was shot in the shoulder Saturday after she advanced toward the officer holding a knife, which she refused to drop. The incident was caught on and at least one witness can be heard shouting, "Put the knife down." (Warning, this video is graphic.)聽According to the court documents, she was also carrying seven more knives and a hammer.聽
If Ms. Nettles was trying to get shot, as she potentially indicated by saying she was 鈥渞eady to die鈥� and refusing to surrender her weapons as she approached the cop, her case could be considered attempted 鈥渟uicide by cop.鈥�
Police training website the phenomenon as the 鈥渦nique type of officer-involved shooting that occurs when a suspect deliberately provokes an officer to shoot.鈥� It is unknown how many attempts at 鈥渟uicide by cop鈥� are made 鈥� successfully or unsuccessfully 鈥� every year, but Nettles鈥� shooting took place on the same day as that of 24-year-old Shamir Terrel Palmer in South Carolina amid similar circumstances.
聽the CBS affiliate聽that Mr. Palmer was shot following a car chase, when he pointed a gun at officers and refused to put down the weapon.
Dorchester County coroner Chris Nisbet told WCSC that Palmer, who died of his wounds Monday, had told friends 鈥渉e was not going back to prison, period.鈥�
"The definition of suicide is, the taking of one鈥檚 own life or creating conditions leading to it," Mr. Nisbet said in a statement Monday night. "This is what I have determined to be the previous shots fired by the decedent at law enforcement and the raising of a deadly weapon at Sheriffs鈥� deputies after his vehicle finally stalled out due to multiple collisions during the attempted traffic stop/chase."
While attempted 鈥渟uicide by cop鈥� can turn police into victims 鈥� a suicidal person 鈥渕ay stop at nothing to reach his goal, including taking ... [an] officer with him鈥� 鈥� some see the labeling of the phenomenon as a dangerous excuse not to hold officers accountable for their judgments when using force.
In studying confrontations with police in which deaths were determined 鈥渟uicides by cop,鈥� there was no distinction between cases where a person鈥檚 death was premeditated and when it seemed to be a spontaneous decision during the confrontation.
鈥淭here is no difference between a person who, in the moment, refuses to surrender and someone who actively seeks out the police as a means to end his life,鈥� Mr. Voorhees writes. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a distinction that absolutely has to be made. Otherwise, the phrase suicide by cop serves as a blanket excuse, a shrug of the shoulders when confronted with the worst possible outcome.鈥�
Nettles has been charged with two counts of assault and an arson charge, for reportedly setting fire to the public housing unit where she and her mother lived. Her sister has also been charged with assaulting an officer for punching the officer after he shot Nettles.
Whether her actions were a result of mental illness 鈥� her mother claimed in the court documents that Nettles is bipolar and had been using PCP and synthetic marijuana 鈥� or an attempt to prompt the officer to shoot her, or a combination of both, is unknown. Possible racial motivation is also unclear, since the race of her shooter is unknown.
This report contains material from the Associated Press.
