Running head: lethal Weapon

Diagnosis of Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon

Taeler A. Loftin
Salt Lake Community College

Author Note
Psychology 2500 Term Paper, 2016

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Abstract
Martin Riggs is a middle-aged male who works as a police officer. He appears to be
unstable at a high risk for suicide. Martin has the tendency to have constant anger and or
difficulty controlling his anger, at times. Martin also tends to participate in risky/dangerous
situations, without out thinking anything through. At times he tends to lack self-control. I have
diagnosed Martin Riggs with Bi-Polar I, an Unspecified Depressive Disorder, Acute Personality
Disorder, and Posttraumatic Stress disorder. Along with the psychosocial Personal Risk Factors,
Personal History of Psychological Trauma, and Personal History of Military Deployment.

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Diagnosis of Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon
Martin Riggs is approximately 37 years of age; he works as an officer of the Los Angeles
Police Department. His wife, of 11 years, recently passed away in a tragic car accident. He
presents as unstable and at a high risk of suicide.
Lethal Weapon
The movie starts off with a 22 year-old prostitute jumping from a hotel balcony. The girl
turns out to be the daughter of a homicide detectives old war buddy. The scene moves to Martin
Riggs awaking, from what seems like a restless night. He started his morning with beer and a
cigarette. Riggs then starts off his day with an intense drug bust, in which he presented risky
behavior that led to his transfer to the homicide department, as Rogers new partner. Their
relationship starts off rocky due to Riggs history. After some extreme circumstances Roger and
Martin become close partners who trusted each other with their lives.
Diagnosis 1
Code: F31.1
Name of Diagnosis: Bipolar I Disorder, current or most recent episode hypomanic,
severe, with rapid cycling, with mixed features
Martin Riggs meets the following criteria for this diagnosis; Inflated self-esteem or
grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, more talkative then usual or pressure to keep talking, and
excessive involvement in activities that have high potential for painful consequences.
(Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5, 2013, pp. 123-132)
Martin Riggs presents as severely unstable from his first appearance in the film. He
wakes up, and his morning begins with a beer and cigarette. Within the same day Riggs was the
main man in a drug bust. He came off as cocky, really making the act seem believable. He
made a risky choice in abruptly giving up his cover, showing his impulsivity, and it turned in to a
shoot-out between the LAPD and the drug dealers. In the shoot-out, Riggs took a risk by

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intensely provoking one of the drug dealers that had a gun to his head by saying just do it, you
want to, so just do it. (Lethal Weapon, 1987). He escalated very quickly when he was able to get
the gun, and turned it on to the dealer, he then progressed to putting it against the drug dealers
lower jaw, increasingly becoming so unstable that other officers had to step in to take over before
Riggs killed another man.
He tends to suffer from manic episodes, in which he becomes reckless and impulsive. For
instance; the incident with the jumper is a good example of this. He recklessly stepped over the
edge of the roof to stand next to the man in order to talk him down, by provoking him. He then
handcuffed himself to the suicidal man without a second thought. He then continued to provoke
the man, ultimately jumping off the roof himself. With no regards for either of their lives, once
again showing his recklessness.
Riggs tempting fate seems to play a large part in his everyday life. There was a situation
between Roger and Martin, after recklessly jumped off the building, where Roger told Martin
that if he wanted to kill himself to just do it. He proceeded to shoving the gun in his face, but
much to Rogers horror Riggs would have pulled the trigger if he wasnt stopped. Thats when
Roger realized that Riggs was not faking it as many believed, when this was realized, Roger
said, youre not faking it, you really are just psycho (Lethal Weapon, 1987)
In a depressive state Martin shows severe suicide ideation and is a risk to himself and
potentially others. With Bugs Bunny Cartoons in the background, maybe in an attempt to change
the atmosphere that was caused by his depression; possibly suggesting the possibility of him
trying to talk himself out of the thought, Riggs sat on the floor holding a picture of his wife
and him on their wedding day in one hand and a 1 millimeter Barrette in the other. He was

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severely emotional and fought with himself, showing hesitation. He chose not to go through with
it saying Ill see you later Ill see you much later, to the picture of his late wife.
Diagnosis 2
Code: F32.9
Name of Diagnosis: Unspecified Depressive Disorder, last episode severe, w/ mixed
features
Martin Riggs does not meet all criteria for other depressive disorders such as Disruptive
Mood Dysregulation disorder or Major Depression Disorder; he doesnt show signs of fatigue
and hopelessness throughout the day. But he does show signs of lack of self-worth and suicide
ideation, though that also may be due to a depressive state due to Bipolar I.
The first time the chance of depression being a factor was when he was watching Looney
Toons while in a very emotional state with a gun in one hand and a wedding picture of him and
his wife in the other. This emotional state goes on for some time, as he is talking to his wife
who recently passed away. His wife and him had been married for 11 years prior to her death. It
is common for one to go into a state of hopelessness and lack of will to continue on without said
loved one. When it seems like he is going to go through with killing himself, he becomes
hesitant, going back and forth from head to mouth trying to determine where to do it. But,
although it seemed as if he was going to go through with, he chose to continue on.
Going back to the incident where Martin was going to use Rogers gun to shoot himself
right then and there also shows that he has no feeling of self-worth and doesnt even seem to
think twice when it comes to killing himself.
Riggs has a little self-esteem at times, and believes that all he is good for is killing. He
doesnt recognize all the good the he does and all those he saves as being good at something.
As soon as a risky situation presents itself, Martin is the one willing to do it; no questions asked.

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Diagnosis 3
Code: F43.0
Name of Diagnosis: Acute Stress Disorder
Martin Riggs meets the following criteria for this diagnosis; directly experiencing the
traumatic event(s), witnessing, in person, the event(s) as it occurs to others, experiencing
repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details to traumatic events. (Diagnostic and statistical
manual of mental disorders: DSM-5, 2013, pp. 280-286)
To start off Martin recently lost his wife and has not given himself the chance to heal. He
continues to work, at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) regardless of his unstable
state. Though at first he was working in the Narcotics Department, which an incident occurred
where he became undone and had to have other officers jump in, which lead to his move to the
Homicide Department.
Shortly after his transfer to homicide, Riggs assisted in the jumper incident, where he
said he had it under control, instead of doing a routine talk down, Riggs decided to take a
much different approach; by stepping onto the ledge with the jumper and handcuffing himself to
him. Many were saying that the stress of the job is getting to him. When that wasnt the case
all, its what gave him a purpose, in fact the loss of his wife was what had caused him the initial
stress.
On the job Riggs continuously is pulling out his gun in situations where he shouldnt do
so. The department therapist thinks that the stress of the job is damaging his ability to properly
recover, which is leading to his recklessness.
Diagnosis 4
Code: F43.10
Name of Diagnosis: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

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Martin Riggs meets the following criteria for this diagnosis; directly experienced that
traumatic events, experiences repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the traumatic
events, marked physiological reactions to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an
aspect of the traumatic event(s). (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM5, 2013, pp. 271-280)
At age 19, Riggs was part of a special unit called The Phoenix Project, as a
sharpshooter. Riggs was often in high risk situations that threatened his life daily. Riggs is known
for being an excellent gunman and his reputation precedes him. But due to the time he served
Riggs seems to have residual effects. For instance, when Roger went to make sure he was okay
Riggs reacted abruptly as if in a warzone.
Psychosocial Problems:
Z91.89 Personal Risk Factors

He has severe suicidal tendencies.

He has a means of committing suicide.
He has no sense of his self-worth.

Z91.49 Personal History of Psychological Trauma

The loss of his wife seems to have caused some psychological damage.

Z91.82 Personal History of Military Deployment

He was deployed to Vietnam in 1969.

He was a part of an elite squad run by the CIA called The Phoenix

Project.
He participated in an unknown amount of assassinations while deployed.
He is heavy into Martial arts and Tai Chi allowing him to excel in hand to

hand combat.
He is known to be one of the best sharp shooters in the world.

Z56.9 Problem Related to Employment

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The department therapist is actively trying to get him off active duty until

he undergoes a full psych evaluation, and passes.

His boss believes he is acting psychotic on purpose, in order to get his

pension. But, that if he doesnt get his act together then hell take him off.
His job offers up risky situations on which cause to enable his need for
acting invincible while in a manic state.

Overall Opinion:
I personally think that Mel Gibson did a great job portraying mental illness. It is
difficult for many actors to portray mental illness easily, without making it seem fake. Though
it was difficult to determine between going with Bipolar I and Borderline. Mainly because his
surrounding sometimes seemed to determine his reactions. But ultimately, it seems as if where he
was in his mood cycle determined the intensity of the emotion he was portraying. I also had to
remember that this movie was in the 80s there was not as much information to go of regarding
the details of Bi-polar. Most people at the time believed those who had Bi-Polar, moods could
change on a dime back and forth versus going through a cycle which determined the way they
handle a situation. I was particularly impressed with the scene where he contemplated suicide,
mainly for the reason that the emotion Gibson was able to portray was undeniably believable.

DSM-5 Evaluation Sheet

Client Name: Martin Riggs

Diagnosis:
Code: F31.1

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Name of Disorder: Bipolar I Disorder, current or most recent episode hypomanic, severe, with
rapid cycling, with mixed features
Code: F32.9
Name of Disorder: Unspecified Depressive Disorder, last episode severe, w/ mixed features
Code: F43.0
Name of Disorder: Acute Stress Disorder
Code: F43.10
Name of Disorder: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Additional Information:
Medical Problem(s): None Disclosed
Psychosocial Problem(s):

Z91.89 Personal Risk Factors

Z91.49 Personal History of Psychological Trauma
Z91.82 Personal History of Military Deployment
Z56.9 Problem Related to Employment

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References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th
ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Donner, R. (Director), Black, S. (Screenwriter), & Silver, J. (Producer). (1987). Lethal weapon
[Motion picture on Blu-Ray DVD]. United States: Warner Brothers.