Cops who multitask well less likely to shoot unarmed persons when threatened, study shows

In the midst of life-threatening situations requiring split-second decisions, police officers with a higher ability to multitask are less likely to shoot unarmed persons when feeling threatened during video simulations, a new Georgia State University study suggests.

Heather Kleider, Dominic Parrott and Tricia King, assistant professors of psychology at Georgia State, have taken a unique look at officer-involved shooting situations, signs of negative emotions and working memory capacity — the capacity to perform multiple mental tasks, such as reasoning, at the same time.

Other studies have examined factors such as ethnicity, stereotypes, neighborhood crime rates and other factors, but this study examines the effects of police officers’ characteristics on shooting decisions.

“In cognitive psychology, operation span, or working memory, is an overarching cognitive mechanism that indicates the ability to multitask, and the amount of available capacity to perform tasks varies by individual and situation,” Kleider said. “People with a higher capacity are able to keep more things ‘in play’ at one time.”

Urban police officers participated in the study, completing a test of working memory capacity, and then watched a video of an officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of the officer, during which time negative affect and stress indicators were measured; including elevated heart rates and increased sweating.

Following the video, officers participated in a computer-based simulation where they were required to make split-second decisions whether to shoot or not to shoot someone, based on 80 slides that presented a person holding either a gun or a harmless object like a cell phone, for only a fraction of a second. Officers then pressed either a “shoot” or a “don’t shoot” button.

Analyzing the data, the researchers found that lower levels of working memory capacity increased the likelihood of shooting unarmed people among those officers who had higher levels of negative emotionality — a score determined by comparing readings of facial movement and heartbeat rates between a baseline reading and readings taken during the stressful situation.

Officers with a higher working memory capacity seemed to buffer officers against the negative effects of a threat when making shooting decisions.

“An important thing to consider is that some decision making requires controlled processing wherein balanced/accurate decisions require impulse control” Kleider explained. “For some people, this usurps a substantial amount of available working memory capacity to control impulses, and if you are someone with a lower capacity, it's harder to do.”

Psychologists are not sure whether working memory capacity can be increased with training, but Kleider and her colleagues are planning to investigate this, and are also planning to work with several police departments on a broader study to see if training and years of experience influence shooting decisions.

The study, “Shooting Behavior: How Working Memory and Negative Emotionality Influence Police Officer Shoot Decisions” will appear in a 2009 edition of Applied Cognitive Psychology.

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Three Former Atlanta Police Officers Sentenced to Federal Prison in Fatal Shooting of Elderly Atlanta Woman

David E. Nahmias, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia; Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice; and Gregory Jones, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that three former Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers were sentenced to prison today by Chief United States District Judge Julie E. Carnes on a charge of conspiracy to violate civil rights resulting in death, arising from the fatal police shooting of Kathryn Johnston, a 92-year old Atlanta woman, at her home during the execution of a search warrant obtained by the defendants based upon false information on November 21, 2006.

JASON R. SMITH, 36, of Oxford, Georgia, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. GREGG JUNNIER, 42, of Woodstock, Georgia, was sentenced to six years in federal prison. ARTHUR TESLER, 42, of Acworth, Georgia was sentenced to five years in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system. Each defendant was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, and collectively to pay $8,180 in restitution for the costs of Ms. Johnston’s funeral and burial.

In a brief news conference after the sentencing hearings, United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said in part, “As Atlanta police narcotics officers, these three defendants repeatedly failed to follow proper procedures and then lied under oath to obtain search warrants. Their routine violations of the Fourth Amendment led to the death of an innocent citizen. The death of Kathryn Johnson in a police shooting was a terrible tragedy for a law-abiding elderly woman, her family, and friends and our entire community. But as her family and others hoped, from this tragedy have come two positive results. First, it has led the Atlanta Police Department to implement useful reforms in training and supervision and to entirely revamp its Narcotics Unit, reducing the possibility of a similar tragedy in the future. Second, the significant prison sentences imposed by the Court today should send a strong message to other law enforcement officers who may be tempted to lie under oath or otherwise violate the law. Officers who think, as these defendants once did, that the ends justify the means or that ‘taking shortcuts' and telling lies will not be discovered and punished should realize that they are risking their careers and their liberty. And officers who try to obstruct justice when their misconduct faces exposure, rather than cooperating in the investigation, should realize that they will face even more severe punishment.”

In Washington D.C., Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King said, “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously prosecuting law enforcement officers who willfully disregard the Constitution and abuse their authority to violate the rights of others. This sort of unlawful behavior, resulting in Ms. Johnston's tragic death, undermines the efforts of law enforcement officers who honorably perform their duties.”

Gregory Jones, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta, said, “This is a sad day in the law enforcement community. Few crimes are as reprehensible as those committed by police officers who violate the very laws they have sworn to uphold. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Johnston family, and we hope today's sentencing helps bring closure to this tragedy. Further, we want the public to know the FBI will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who violate their oaths of office and the civil rights of others.”

JUNNIER and SMITH pleaded guilty to the federal civil rights conspiracy charge, as well as voluntary manslaughter and related state charges in Fulton County ( Georgia) Superior Court, on April 26, 2007. Pursuant to their plea agreements, they are scheduled to be sentenced in state court on March 5, 2009, to the same sentence imposed in federal court, with the sentences to be served concurrently. TESLER initially declined to plead guilty and was indicted in state court on charges of violation of oath of office by a public officer, false imprisonment and false statements. In 2008, TESLER was convicted at trial in state court on the false statement charges, but that conviction has been reversed on appeal. Following the state trial, federal authorities re-evaluated TESLER’S case, conducted further investigation, and determined that federal prosecution of TESLER was appropriate. TESLER pleaded guilty to the federal charge on October 30, 2008.

JUNNIER began cooperating truthfully with authorities shortly after the federal investigation began and provided valuable assistance in the investigation and prosecution of SMITH and TESLER. Additionally, JUNNIER’S cooperation led to guilty pleas to federal charges by two additional APD officers, including a separate civil rights offense committed by the sergeant who commanded the narcotics team involved in the shooting. SMITH cooperated to a more limited extent. Both former officers provided information relevant to a broader FBI investigation of misconduct by APD narcotics and other officers, which culminated in a report provided by the FBI to APD Chief Richard Pennington in October 2008 for consideration of potential administrative discipline against other APD officers. As a result of their cooperation, the Court reduced JUNNIER’s sentence by 40 percent and SMITH’s sentence by 20 percent. TESLER did not provide substantial assistance in the investigation and received no sentence reduction on that ground, although his sentence was reduced based on his lesser role in the conspiracy.

The facts and other details regarding the case are set forth in the government’s Sentencing Memorandum attached to this release. (NEWS MEDIA NOTE: additional copies of the Sentencing Memorandum are available upon request.)

This case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Jon-Peter Kelly, United States Attorney David E. Nahmias, and Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Special Litigation Counsel Paige M. Fitzgerald prosecuted the case.

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