Excuses and Justifications
Video accounts might help some avoid accountability
Imagine you are a police officer under administrative investigation for use of excessive force. There is a video of you pushing an 86 year old woman, who then hits her head on the pavement. The video also shows you using pepper spray on another woman coming to her aid.
As part of the investigation you must provide a compulsory statement describing what happened. You will give one, or a combination, of the two following accounts¹:
- You accept responsibility but deny you did anything wrong. For example, your actions were justified to get the protesters away from the street.
- You agree your acts were wrong but deny full responsibility by making excuses. For example, it was wrong to push the old woman to the ground, but you only meant to move her arm away, not make her fall.
Typically, statements in an investigation are made before viewing the video as to not tamper with the testimony of the police officer. But, what if you had a right to view the video before you prepare your statement? We are likely to find out. Arizona senators passed a bill that ensures police officers under administrative investigation have the right to view video evidence. Before making statements they also are required to be read the following:
Video evidence has limitations and may depict events differently than you recall and may not depict any or all of the events as seen or heard by you. Video has a limited field of view and may not capture events normally seen by the human eye. The frame rate of video may limit the camera’s ability to capture movements normally seen by the human eye. Videos are a two-dimensional medium and may not capture depth, distance or positional orientation as well as the human eye. Remember, the video evidence is intended to assist your memory and ensure that your statement explains your state of mind at the time of the incident. You should not feel in any way compelled or obligated to explain any difference in what you remember and acted upon from what viewing the additional evidence provides you. Listening to audio recordings or viewing video recordings may or may not provide additional clarity to what you remember.²
Imagine again that you are the police officer under investigation. After seeing the video, you are ready to make your statement. I bet your excuses and justifications are now a lot more sophisticated, as you attempt to cover everything on the video, not just what is available from memory alone. Now you remember: You swiped her arm away after she poked you in the eye. It was clearly an accident. And with your vision impaired, you had to use the pepper spray to get the crowd under control. After all, the blurry people looked like they were about to hurt an old lady.
Notes
- “There are in general two types of accounts: excuses and justifications. Either or both are likely to be invoked when a person is accused of having done something that is “bad, wrong, inept, unwelcome, or in some other of the numerous possible ways, untoward.” — Scott, M. B., & Lyman, S. M. (1968). Accounts
- Senate Amendments to S.B. 1253
