Perception and memory distortions after shootings

[cubsfan1984]

Interesting read

http://www.aele.org/law/2008FPAUG/wb-19.pdf

 

[Shay]

Filling out of the surveys was voluntary and the great majority of officers who were given the survey returned them to the author.
The present study found the following results:
- diminished sound 84%
- tunnel vision 79%
- responding on “automatic pilot” with little or no conscious thought 74%
- heightened visual clarity 71%
- slow motion time 62%
- memory loss for part of the event 52%
- memory loss for some of own behavior 46%
- dissociation: sense of detachment or unreality 39%
- intrusive distracting thoughts 26%
- memory distortion: saw, heard, or experienced something that didn’t really happen 21%
- intensified sounds 16%
- fast motion time 17%
- temporary paralysis 07%

The effects of extreme stress and adrenalin on the body and mind are well known and yet some people still want to make statements after they are involved in a defense situation.

There is a reason why most departments require a 24-72 hour period of mental recovery for officers prior to making a statement.

 

[HandK]

Yep if your involved in a self defense shooting its best to just keep your mouth shut until you have an attorney present, at the most just say they left you no choice but to defend your life.

 

[SigSense]

Interesting read. I wonder if they'll study the thousands of shootings occurring in Afghanistan and Iraq daily, lots of debrief material there. Was recently talking to a buddy who was to my right during a firefight in Afghanistan in 2003, and it was funny how our two memories viewed that day!

 

[shooter521]

I can personally attest to having experienced the following from the above list, during intense force-on-force scenario training:

- responding on “automatic pilot” with little or no conscious thought 74%
- heightened visual clarity 71%
- slow motion time 62%
- memory loss for some of own behavior 46%

I can only imagine what a real defensive situation or combat would be like, and have no desire to personally experience either...

 

[Shay]

I can personally attest to having experienced the following from the above list, during intense force-on-force scenario training:

- responding on “automatic pilot” with little or no conscious thought 74%
- heightened visual clarity 71%
- slow motion time 62%
- memory loss for some of own behavior 46%

I can only imagine what a real defensive situation or combat would be like, and have no desire to personally experience either...

FoF training shows many of the same physical and psychological responses. Your body and brain don't know the difference.

 

[DemolitionMan]

I have definitely experienced the time-dilation effect before, and had completely unrelated thoughts in the middle of a threatening situation.

My favorite example of this is a story my dad used to tell. While an LEO he was attending a class for detective candidates. In the middle of a boring lecture, the door to the classroom flew open. Two men came running in shouting and carrying on. The first one shouted at the other to stop, then pulled a banana out of his pocket. He pointed the banana at the second man and yelled "Bang!" The other man groaned, grabbed his chest, then held up a little American flag and waved it. They both then ran from the room.

The instructor told the class to grab a pencil and paper and write down exactly what they had just witnessed. He collected the papers and then described what had actually happened.

The instructor then read some of the students' observations. Several of them claimed to have seen a shooting, complete with blood spurting out of the "victim". Some were closer to the truth, but there were a lot of differences on details. The banana was seen as a pencil, a toy gun, and even an umbrella. The second man waved a white flag, a handkerchief, etc. The men were described as all sorts of races, ages, and sizes most of which had nothing to do with their actual appearance.

The point of the exercise of course was that it is very hard to make accurate observations when under stress or when you're not expecting to see something. Your mind fills in details based on what it expects to see and of course those details can be wrong.

All of that certainly makes me wonder about eye-witness testimony in court....