Understanding the Role of Mental Illness in Deadly and Violent Behavior as Police Search for Murder Suspect Christopher Dorner
The search for continues in California for Christopher Dorner, an ex-cop suspected of killing three people possibly out of revenge. He left behind a manifesto with a chilling message: “Suppressing the truth will leave to deadly consequences for you and your family. There will be an element of surprise where you work, live, eat, and sleep.”
Criminal psychologist Dr. Alan Lipman joined America’s New HQ to talk about what leads to this kind of deadly behavior. Dr. Lipman said not only is Dorner dangerous because he knows how the LAPD operates, but he is also in an “intensely homicidal frame of mind.”
In order to catch Dorner, Dr. Lipman said it’s important to understand how he thinks. He described the ex-cop as possibly having narcissistic personality disorder or bipolar disorder. “This doesn’t mean he’s psychotic like a Jared Loughner. This is someone who is filled with rage, who becomes enraged and murderous very easily."
Dr. Lipman said he is likely to want to go out in a blaze of glory. “When you read the 11-page manifesto, what you have to realize is that it’s part-grandiose declaration of intended violence and half-suicide note.”
“Some of the people who have been following this story may be wondering why did he mention Jerry Seinfeld and 'The Hangover' and all these seemingly odd references – because that was the suicide note part of this, saying goodbye to all of these things that he appreciated.”
Dr. Lipman assessed that it's a 50 percent likelihood that he will present himself before officers, not to surrender, but because he wants to confront his accusers that he’s so enraged at. “There are three possibilities here. One: he’s going to offer himself up for confrontation. […] The second is that he’s already taken his life. And the third is that he’s cannier than he’s led on and he’s going to try to stretch this thing as long as possible and try to get away with it.”
More on the Manhunt for Christopher Dorner:
