LaEscopeta
Member
I was searching for something else and found this. I won’t copy all of it here, but I found the quotes and conclusion interesting and usefull.
http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/2002/oct2002/oct02leb.htm#page_19
“If it hadn’t been for the recoil, I wouldn’t have known my gun was working. Not only didn’t I hear the shots but afterward my ears weren’t even ringing.”
“I saw the suspect suddenly point his gun at my partner. As I shot him, I saw my partner go down in a spray of blood. I ran over to help my partner, and he was standing there unharmed. The suspect never even got off a shot.”
“When I got home after the shooting, my wife told me that I had called her on my cell phone during the pursuit of the violent suspect just prior to the shooting. I have no memory of making that phone call.”
“I told the SWAT team that the suspect was firing at me from down a long dark hallway about 40 feet long. When I went back to the scene the next day, I was shocked to discover that he had actually been only about 5 feet in front of me in an open room. There was no dark hallway.”
“During a violent shoot-out I looked over, drawn to the sudden mayhem, and was puzzled to see beer cans slowly floating through the air past my face. What was even more puzzling was that they had the word Federal printed on the bottom. They turned out to be the shell casings ejected by the officer who was firing next to me.”
These representative samples, taken from actual officer-involved shootings, exemplify the quirky nature of perception and memory. Law enforcement officers fully realize that their superiors, legal authorities, and the public they serve will hold them completely accountable for their every action during an officer-involved shooting. These same individuals also will scrutinize the accuracy and truthfulness of statements made by officers taking part in such incidents. Therefore, it becomes important to understand that expecting officers to have perfect recall of any event is not realistic. Indeed, the body of research on perception and memory supports the fact that people rarely are capable of total and perfect recall of events.
Although the underlying physical processes of perception and memory continue as a matter of research and debate, empirical observation of human behavior can shed some light on the behavioral consequences of these processes. To this end, the author focused her research on the self-reported perceptual and memory distortions experienced by officers involved in shootings.1
[Body of article edited out]
CONCLUSION
The observations of the officers at the beginning of this article effectively portray how perception and memory can influence an individual’s understanding of a particular incident. One officer did not hear the sound of his gun discharging. Another did not remember calling his wife just prior to being involved in a shooting. Three others observed things happening in ways that did not actually occur. All of the officers were involved in the highly stressful and emotionally laden process of using deadly force and, therefore, subject to later scrutiny by their agencies and the citizens they serve for their actions.
Although highly trained in accurately describing events and uncovering facts pertinent to criminal investigations, law enforcement officers face the same difficulties that all people do when trying to recall what happened in high-stress situations. Research has revealed that people rarely can remember such events with total accuracy. The author’s study, along with other research she examined, demonstrated that this finding holds true for officers involved in shootings. With this in mind, the law enforcement profession must realize the implications this has for officers and those who analyze their actions. Because critical incidents demand split-second decisions, officers must receive the best training that will help them react appropriately in high-stress situations. Likewise, those who analyze these events must understand the demands placed on officers during such incidents and maintain realistic expectations concerning what officers perceived during the events and what they can recall accurately afterwards. In the end, recognizing the perceptual and memory distortions that officers can have during a shooting can go a long way toward helping officers deal with such difficult situations and, perhaps, reduce their occurrence.
http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/2002/oct2002/oct02leb.htm#page_19
“If it hadn’t been for the recoil, I wouldn’t have known my gun was working. Not only didn’t I hear the shots but afterward my ears weren’t even ringing.”
“I saw the suspect suddenly point his gun at my partner. As I shot him, I saw my partner go down in a spray of blood. I ran over to help my partner, and he was standing there unharmed. The suspect never even got off a shot.”
“When I got home after the shooting, my wife told me that I had called her on my cell phone during the pursuit of the violent suspect just prior to the shooting. I have no memory of making that phone call.”
“I told the SWAT team that the suspect was firing at me from down a long dark hallway about 40 feet long. When I went back to the scene the next day, I was shocked to discover that he had actually been only about 5 feet in front of me in an open room. There was no dark hallway.”
“During a violent shoot-out I looked over, drawn to the sudden mayhem, and was puzzled to see beer cans slowly floating through the air past my face. What was even more puzzling was that they had the word Federal printed on the bottom. They turned out to be the shell casings ejected by the officer who was firing next to me.”
These representative samples, taken from actual officer-involved shootings, exemplify the quirky nature of perception and memory. Law enforcement officers fully realize that their superiors, legal authorities, and the public they serve will hold them completely accountable for their every action during an officer-involved shooting. These same individuals also will scrutinize the accuracy and truthfulness of statements made by officers taking part in such incidents. Therefore, it becomes important to understand that expecting officers to have perfect recall of any event is not realistic. Indeed, the body of research on perception and memory supports the fact that people rarely are capable of total and perfect recall of events.
Although the underlying physical processes of perception and memory continue as a matter of research and debate, empirical observation of human behavior can shed some light on the behavioral consequences of these processes. To this end, the author focused her research on the self-reported perceptual and memory distortions experienced by officers involved in shootings.1
[Body of article edited out]
CONCLUSION
The observations of the officers at the beginning of this article effectively portray how perception and memory can influence an individual’s understanding of a particular incident. One officer did not hear the sound of his gun discharging. Another did not remember calling his wife just prior to being involved in a shooting. Three others observed things happening in ways that did not actually occur. All of the officers were involved in the highly stressful and emotionally laden process of using deadly force and, therefore, subject to later scrutiny by their agencies and the citizens they serve for their actions.
Although highly trained in accurately describing events and uncovering facts pertinent to criminal investigations, law enforcement officers face the same difficulties that all people do when trying to recall what happened in high-stress situations. Research has revealed that people rarely can remember such events with total accuracy. The author’s study, along with other research she examined, demonstrated that this finding holds true for officers involved in shootings. With this in mind, the law enforcement profession must realize the implications this has for officers and those who analyze their actions. Because critical incidents demand split-second decisions, officers must receive the best training that will help them react appropriately in high-stress situations. Likewise, those who analyze these events must understand the demands placed on officers during such incidents and maintain realistic expectations concerning what officers perceived during the events and what they can recall accurately afterwards. In the end, recognizing the perceptual and memory distortions that officers can have during a shooting can go a long way toward helping officers deal with such difficult situations and, perhaps, reduce their occurrence.