Yes it is a plea. In cases like this is a desperate plea. In some cases there is no choice, if a cop can’t disarm this waif then they are incompetent.
It was nothing more than a successful suicide that could have been prevented before she ever walked into the station. Two previous attempts and a history of mental illness, the ball was dropped long before she picked up that knife. This dropping of the ball is just a repeat of the sad state our help for the mentally ill is in. Sandy Hook, Arizona, Colorado are examples of that same ball dropping.