Analysis on Taser intentionForce Science explains "slips-and-capture errors"
And other psychological phenomena that drove the fateful BART shooting
Jul 22, 2010
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Mehserle, testifying in his own defense at the trial, said he thought at that moment, This has to go quick.
“All his actions from that point forward—except one—are consistent with a Tasing intention,” Lewinski says. “Enhanced video frames show his hand canting and tugging at his holster at an angle that suggests a Taser-draw effort. He persists in this effort to the point that he defeats the restraints on his gun holster. His thumb then moves as if to arm the Taser, he backs up to create a better dart-spread, he only fires once instead of double-tapping, and so on.
“The only inconsistency—and, of course, a critical one—is that he reached to the right side of his belt and gripped his gun instead of crossing his hand about a foot away to the left where his Taser was.
“This is the slip and capture. Under time pressure to address a perceived threat, his intention to draw his Taser slipped off his agenda, so to speak, when it was captured and completed by a more well-rehearsed motor program; i.e., going to the location where his gun was in order to manage a threat. He was not conscious of this unfortunate switch until after the shot was fired.”
Such errors are common in civilian life, Lewinski explains, ranging from experienced pilots who inadvertently activate the wrong controls at a critical moment and crash airplanes to drivers who floorboard their accelerator when they think they’re tromping on the brake. “In a very simple illustration,” Lewinski says, “think of renting an unfamiliar model of car. You know you’re in a different vehicle, but when you go to insert the key you may automatically and unconsciously direct it toward the spot where the ignition is located on your own car at home.
“The fact that you do this once is not unusual, but the fact that some continue to do it several times before their behavior changes shows how powerful old programs are and how hard they are to change.
“In a situation like that, you get the benefit of an attentional check—you see what you’ve done wrong and then you pay attention and correct it. But there wasn’t time for that for Mehserle.
“In his urgency, his concentration was focused exclusively on Grant’s back, where he intended to place the Taser darts. Because of what’s called ‘inattentional blindness’—meaning that he wasn’t consciously paying attention to and registering it—he wouldn’t have been aware that the feel and weight of the gun was different from that of a Taser. The video clearly shows that the gun was never brought up to his line of sight, where he might have seen that it wasn’t his yellow Taser.
“His first indication that he’d made a mistake was when he pressed the trigger and the bullet tore into Oscar Grant’s back. The video shows him experiencing a definite reflexive, startle reaction. His left hand comes away from the gun as if he’s touched a hot stove. His hands go to his head and he exclaims, ‘Oh my God!’ His response is consistent with a sudden realization that he’d done something drastically wrong.”
In his testimony, Lewinski cited the research of Drs. Alexis Artwohl and Audrey Honig, both experts on police psychology and graduates of the certification course in Force Science Analysis. In their studies, Artwohl and Honig have documented that the vast majority of officers default to automatic, unconscious defensive behavior in threat situations, similar to some of what Mehserle experienced.
https://www.police1.com/police-products/firearms/training/articles/force-science-explains-slips-and-capture-errors-oIgwS6PRaoKWsQPJ/
