There's a new "invisible gorilla" study out...

Fred Fuller · May 10, 2013

See http://www.forcescience.org/fsnews/225.html
Studying the Science & Human Dynamics Behind Deadly Force Encounters
Force Science News #225:
New "invisible gorilla" study adds to proof of "inattentional blindness"

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For those unfamiliar with it, the classic study is reported at http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/gorilla_experiment.html

Lesson - your brain doesn't always perceive everything your eyes see. And that can cost you...

Unistat · May 10, 2013

I just saw this video this morning. **WARNING GRAPHIC VIOLENCE**

Gun Free Zone - Real Life Shooting.

The officers approaching the house completely missed the bad guy in the car. Could be that the light, reflections, and shadows concealed him. It also could be an "invisible gorilla" situation where the approaching officers were so focused on the entry and "fatal funnel" that they did not (could not) see the threat in the car.

9mmepiphany · May 10, 2013

The shooting video is very interesting and very much a elbow in the ribs about keeping your head on a swivel when out and about.

Part of personal awareness is to accept the existence of anything occurring, without expecting anything specific. Specific expectation will often lead to the inability to accept the unexpected

answerguy · May 11, 2013

Any idea if the bad guy who took the shots survived? He appeared to be still thrashing around at the end, which is surprising.

Blackstone · May 13, 2013

I couldn't tell if they landed a headshot on him, it looked like there was an impact on the tree just in front of his head. Either way, it took him down but it certainly wasn't the instant kill that Hollywood would have you believe.

Averageman · May 13, 2013

The two guys looked and were dressed so much alike it would appear that they may have had the two confused when the second one walked out the front door.
So one guy was lost in the surveilance and when the second guy walked out the door it looked like they had the guy they wanted. That would explain why anyone turned their back to anything but the street when they went in.
Watching the place from all angles and keeping exact locations of everyone moving would be key.
I've been on LP/OP when squad sized elements nearly stepped on my back to pass through my perimeter. Roll over on your radio and weapon and don't look at anyones face and they were within 3 feet as they passed. Thank goodness it was training and not combat.

9mmepiphany · May 13, 2013

Averageman said:
So one guy was lost in the surveilance and when the second guy walked out the door it looked like they had the guy they wanted. That would explain why anyone turned their back to anything but the street when they went in.
Watching the place from all angles and keeping exact locations of everyone moving would be key.

The eye, and your attention, will always be drawn to motion. The tendency is to focus all your attention there to determine what is happening.

The third officer had the overwatch. I was a bit surprised that the BG shooter engaged the third officer first...but maybe he was the only one he could clearly see...unless his intent was to clear an escape path.

It is a bit interesting to note that the BG scored his telling hits after he had himself been hit...looked like good COM hits. Another reminder that just getting a hit doesn't mean the danger from your target is over.

Double Naught Spy · May 13, 2013

The officers approaching the house completely missed the bad guy in the car.

Yes, they did. They focused on the threat that was seen. As noted, the 3rd officer had overwatch, or should have and wasn't looking out for his buddies.

With that said, missing the guy in the car isn't inattention blindness. The guy in the car was not in plain sight such as the "invisible" gorilla was in the examples noted. The guy in the car was fairly well hidden by a combination of tinted windows and the reflected light and dark patterning of shade and sunshine coming through the trees. So like a person behind a cheap 2 way mirror, he would have been tough to readily spot. In fact, he is nearly impossible to see inside the car in the video. It is hard to cursorily spot that which you can't readily even see when you are trying to do so.

Had the guy been sitting out in the open and the cops walked right by him, maybe laying out on the hood of the car with his back against the windshield, that might have been a better example of inattention blindness, but he was fairly well concealed, unlike the gorillas.

9mmepiphany · May 13, 2013

This is correct. Inattentional Blindness would have been if the first BG had been leaning against the tree as the officers walked by...I've seen this before; that's why officers don't walk up side-by-side.

You could make a case for the arguement that the third officer should have seen the BG when he came out of the car with the gun. But since the BG didn't start shooting immediately, I'm thinking the tree was blocking the shot...I could be wrong and maybe he just wanted to refine his sight picture

There's a new "invisible gorilla" study out...

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