Witness says 'suicide by cop' claim does not allow for mental illness

Barr Tribunal: Tribunal witnesses who claimed Mr John Carthy was attempting to commit "suicide by cop" failed to take into account the severity or even the presence of his mental illness, a psychiatrist told the tribunal.

Dr John Sheehan, a consultant psychiatrist at the Mater Hospital in Dublin, who had not treated Mr Carthy, has dismissed the theory that the 27-year-old sought death at the hands of gardaí.

Previous witnesses who put forward the theory as an explanation for Mr Carthy's actions had "no psychiatric experience", Dr Sheehan said.

Mr Carthy was shot dead by gardaí at Abbeylara, Co Longford, in April 2000 after he left his home carrying a loaded shotgun at the end of a 25-hour armed stand-off with gardaí.

A former FBI negotiator, Mr Frederick J Lanceley, and a forensic psychologist, Dr Ian McKenzie, both former witnesses to the tribunal, said Mr Carthy left his house with the intention of provoking gardaí to kill him. Mr Lanceley had coined the term "suicide by cop".

Dr Sheehan said the literature on the subject was limited, but what there was made no reference to people suffering from mental disorders.

"A piece of the jigsaw is missing here because the literature does not incorporate mental illness."

He said Mr Carthy's actions were determined by the bi-polar disorder from which he suffered, and the theory of suicide by cop failed to take into account the "severity and presence of his mental illness".

As a psychiatrist he dealt with severe mental disorders such as Mr Carthy's on a daily basis. "The theory of suicide by cop is raised by people with no experience in psychiatry."