Perceptions of officer-involved shootings by police officers versus civilians

In two preregistered experiments, we explore how perception and memory for a use-of-force incident differ between officers who participated in the incident live and civilians who later viewed a Body-Worn Camera (BWC) video of the incident. In Experiment 1, responses were compared between online civilians and officers who had participated live in a shooting simulator. Responses to event memory and state of mind questions revealed numerous differences between these two groups. Experiment 2 assessed specific mechanisms underlying these effects with an additional group of officers who participated online. Our results have important implications for the application of Graham v. Connor, 1989. This US Supreme Court decision provides the superordinate legal context for determining whether the force used by an officer was justified. It is important to acknowledge that the perspective of an officer is likely to differ from that of civilians who only view the officer's BWC recording afterward.