Officer's lawyer: Jury should hear about auditory exclusion

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Officer's lawyer: Jury should hear about auditory exclusion

Sean Murphy, Associated Press

Updated 9:12 pm, Thursday, September 29, 2016

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A lawyer for a white Oklahoma police officer charged in an unarmed black man's death says she was so hyper-focused on the situation that she didn't hear other officers arrive on the scene or even the deadly gunshot she fired.

Tulsa officer Betty Shelby, who is expected to plead not guilty to first-degree manslaughter at her arraignment on Friday, experienced what is commonly called "auditory exclusion," a condition in which people in high-stress situations often don't hear sounds around them, said her attorney, Scott Wood.

"She didn't hear the gunshot, didn't hear the sirens coming up behind her just prior to the shot," Wood said Thursday. "And it's not only a common phenomenon described in literature, but it's the No. 1 perceptual distortion by people I have represented who have been involved in shootings — diminished sound or complete auditory exclusion."

He said that while Shelby's defense won't hinge on whether she was aware of other officers when she shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on Sept. 16, it would be important for jurors to know.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Officer-s-lawyer-Jury-should-hear-about-auditory-9455897.php

[LiberalFighter]

1. Then she shouldn't be a police officer.

[Orrex]

2. I hope that she's successful in her claim

Because then every single person who suffers a confrontation with cops can thereafter claim that they were "so hyper-focused on the situation" that they didn't hear the cops yelling orders at them.

Or does this "auditory exclusion" phenomenon only manifest in cops?

[regnaD kciN]

5. Oh, depending on the jurisdiction, it might apply to some civilians…

…if they're WHITE, that is.

[Feeling the Bern]

3. Next they'll say her hangnail made her do it.

[brush]

4. It's just another term for "she panicked".

She's going to jail where she belongs.

[regnaD kciN]

6. She OUGHT to go to jail, and for more than manslaughter…

…but I'm betting the Oklahoma jury will come to see things her way. After all, Blue Lives Matter!

[brush]

7. The whole country saw the video. They can't hid this one. JAIL in her future.

[GummyBearz]

8. What a BS excuse

If you can't handle the job then find one you can handle. This sounds like my BS excuse when I say I didn't hear my wife ask me to vacuum

[Coolest Ranger]

9. I don't have

faith in this city to do the right thing. I just don't. This cop is going to walk just like so many others

[melm00se]

10. Not defending her

but I know that in highly stressful situations people can manifest "tunnel vision". If you summon the google, you will find quite a few articles on stress related tunnel vision like this one.

She and her counsel can present any (supportable) defense at trial (in fact it is their right to do so). Whether or not the jury accepts or rejects that defense is one question and the bigger one (as mentioned above) is what are the implications/repercussions of this being a successful defense.

[LanternWaste]

16. Hence, either she was not trained, or she is making an excuse.

The purpose of effective training is to overcome instances of stressful biases. Hence, either she was not trained (unlikely, as all police cadets undergo training), or she is simply making an excuse.

[truthisfreedom]

11. So what?

Lock her up! Let her serve her deserved time. She's useless as a cop and she's a murderer. Why did she apply for the job if she can't keep her shit together? Why didn't they stress-test her?

She should go to prison as an example to those who would apply to be cops but don't have the fortitude to do the job.

[Odin2005]

12. BULLSHIT!

[egeorgequi]

13. 'Cause her diminished hearing made him appear to have a weapon. n/t

[christx30]

14. Would anyone in law enforcement accept this

as an excuse from someone that's not a cop? Me? I'm not trained to deal with stressful situations. I know it would happen to me, and if someone died as a result, I'd be in prison (and rightly so) for killing an innocent person.

Now, she's supposed to be a trained law enforcement officer. She's been trained. She's supposed to be better than that. Lock her up.

[atreides1]

15. Maybe she had something else - Attentional Control

Attentional control refers to an individual's capacity to choose what they pay attention to and what they ignore.

Perhaps she chose to ignore the other officers while choosing to fire on the victim, and failed to realize that her backup had already tazed Mr. Crutcher!

It's also known as selective attention!

It's something that the prosecutor can rebut the defense with.

[TexasBushwhacker]

17. She still didn't grab her taser first

Perhaps if she hadn't grabbed her gun first she wouldn't have had this panic induced deafness.

I predict they will plead this one down to second degree manslaughter. That was the charge against the "reserve deputy" in Tulsa who "accidently grabbed his gun instead of his taser and killed a man. He's 73 and they still gave him the maximum; 4 years.

[Crepuscular]

18. ...

If she is smart she will ask for a bench trial instead of a jury. Won't be at all surprised if she is acquitted of the manslaughter charge.

[Zo Zig]

19. Did she request backup, via radio?

Play those recordings, we're she talked and then listened.