A man who was shot and killed by police after taunting officers may have been an example of a phenomenon in which authorities are used as a tool by people armed with a death wish, a police psychologist said.
Patrolman Andres "Andy" Vaquera Jr., who was training a rookie officer, responded to a family disturbance call Wednesday and found Jose Luis Sarabia, 38, of San Antonio holding his 21-month-old daughter in one hand and a small-caliber handgun in the other, police said.At one point in the confrontation, Sarabia yelled, "Go ahead and kill me," authorities said.
Vaquera fired after Sarabia turned toward him with a .22-caliber pistol, police said. Sarabia was struck in the head and died at the scene.
Police psychologist Michael McMains told the San Antonio Light Friday that the shooting may he been an example of "suicide by cop."
McMains said the traumatic confrontation often ends a shattered life and leaves the police officer with symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress syndrome.
"There's a possibility, from what I have heard, that this is what he (Sarabia) was doing," McMains said. "It sounds like the guy was pushing real hard to force the officers into a shooting."
Vaquera Saturday remained on administrative duty while police department officials investigated the shooting.
Relatives said Sarabia and his wife, Juanita, had been separated, but were working to reconcile and move with their four children out of the housing project on the west side of San Antonio.
"You can't go back and ask these people why they've done what they've done," McMains said. "But one of the aspects in suicides is the loss of a relationship, such as a husband and wife breaking up. That's frequently a big element in that person's decision to commit suicide.
"There are a lot of people who want to die, but don't want to kill themselves. They are miserable. They are hurting, and they want to die to stop hurting.
"They put themselves in dangerous kinds of situations. They don't want the responsibility for actually making the decision to kill themselves."
While the agony of the suicidal person ends after an officer pulls the trigger, the problems of that officer are just beginning, McMains said.
"They question themselves," he said. "They frequently have nightmares about the shooting.
"In extreme cases, the officer will fall into a pattern like the post-traumatic stress syndrome seen in some Vietnam veterans. They get depressed.
"Then, when something reminds them of the shooting, they may have flashbacks. That, of course, is the extreme, but it happens a third of the time to officers in these shootings," said McMains.
Handling suicidal personalities already is a skill touched on during the six-month cadet training class, McMains said, but because of the frequency of possible "suicide by cop" incidences, instructors will in future classes inform cadets "that this is happening out there, that there are people who will put you in this position."
Meanwhile, records show that Vaquera had been disciplined by the department three times since 1980.
Vaquera had been suspended for three days in 1984 for allegedly poking police Sgt. Jack Pozero in the chest and telling him he "wouldn't hesitate to shoot someone," according to records obtained from the Fire and Police Civil Service Commission state.
The records showed Vaquera gave up three vacation days after being assessed the suspension May 31, 1984.
Vaquera could not be reached for comment Friday.