Shooting May Have Been Latest ‘Suicide by Cop’

Three of the seven officer-involved shootings in Ventura County last year were “suicide by cop,” police have determined.

That is the term authorities use when an armed suspect, rather than surrendering, forces police to use deadly force.

And that appears to have been the case with 39-year-old Stephen Bayer, who was killed by Simi Valley police early Monday following a four-hour standoff, a police spokesman said.

After leading police on a three-county car chase, Bayer drove onto a dirt lot in an east Simi Valley neighborhood, where he locked himself in his Mercedes for several hours holding a gun to his head.

Police tried unsuccessfully to talk Bayer out of his car. Officers then fired a tear gas canister into his vehicle and Bayer emerged, aiming his gun at police. He was shot several times and later died at a hospital.

It had all the signs of a case of “suicide by cop,” police said.

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“I think that’s exactly what it is,” said Simi Valley Lt. Neal Rein. “Given the actions that he took and the opportunities to have something else happen.”

During the standoff, Rein said, Bayer made several statements to police, “alternating between ‘I’m going to kill myself’ to ‘I’m going kill you’ and ‘you’re going to have to kill me.’ “We’re very convinced he was suicidal, and, despite all the efforts we put forth to prevent it, he was intent on that happening,” said Rein, noting that police had called in a psychologist to help in negotiations with Bayer.

Bayer’s death appears to be the latest in a string of such incidents in the county.

On Dec. 4, Roland Sheehan, 43, fatally stabbed his estranged girlfriend, Vicky Shade, in the chest after a nine-hour standoff with police. SWAT officers burst into the Ventura home and fired 11 bullets into Sheehan after he lunged at them with a kitchen knife.

On Sept. 9, neighbors of Ventura resident Nicholas Nelson, 43, summoned police after hearing gunshots. Police found Nelson firing into his television set. Nelson, who family members said had been depressed over financial problems, taunted officers to “go ahead and shoot.” He advanced on officers with a gun in his hand, prompting them to open fire.

And on May 7, Thousand Oaks resident Derek Myers, 26, ended a car chase through residential streets by pointing a paint-ball gun--which police said closely resembled a real gun--at officers. Deputies fired, fatally striking Myers. A note found later detailed Myers’ wish to die at the hands of police.

“It’s happening and it’s become an increasing threat to our deputies,” Sheriff Bob Brooks said last week of the suicide-by-cop phenomenon. “[The suspect’s] motivation is to put us into a situation where we have no other choice but to defend ourselves.”

The shootings prompted Brooks to invite an expert to host two one-day classes on the subject. The first class--open to any county law enforcement officer--was held in December, the second was held last Thursday. Several Simi Valley police officers attended.

It’s a hot topic, said class instructor Berry Perrou, a San Dimas psychologist who works with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Perrou estimates that about 25% of all shootings in which an officer kills someone are later determined to be a so-called suicide by cop.

That statistic was significantly higher in Ventura County last year, where 43% of the seven officer-involved shootings were motivated by a desire to commit suicide.

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Perrou said his class is all about awareness: educating officers so they can distinguish between a person set on harming officers or other civilians, and a person determined only to hurt themselves.

That process starts with the 911 call, Perrou said.

“That desk officer is the first line of defense,” he said. “They talk to the dispatcher, find out if the person is screaming, yelling, have they been drinking or on drugs, do they have a psychiatric history, have they ever been suicidal. If you get enough yeses, it ought to set off a red flag.” He also emphasized the importance of understanding what he called the “fragile male ego.”

“Strip away the veneer of a group of men, and we are fragile,” Perrou said. “We are always on, always competitive. But take away our things--car, home, job, family--and what are we? Men still feel the need to be the keeper of the castle.”

Perrou said that’s why it is essential to know if the person has recently been laid off or served with a restraining order or divorce papers.

Once on the scene of a potentially volatile situation, officers need to remember that they don’t have to rush into anything. Sometimes, Perrou said, it’s better to stand in the background and let the person calm down--or for the effects of drugs and alcohol to wear off.

“Why deal with it when the anger and emotions are at a high point? We may just provoke or enrage him. Instead, contain the house, but don’t go in. If you know someone is sitting there with a gun, don’t become the target to create a suicide by cop situation.

“We have to ask, ‘Are we trying so hard to save them that we’re killing them,’ ” Perrou said.