Misplacing Memory: Examining the Phenomenon of Cognitive Offloading During an Officer-Involved Use-of-Force Scenario

People are known to offload memory processing tasks to devices, such as cameras. We examined whether body-worn cameras (BWCs) are used in this way by police officers. Fifty officers responded to a simulated domestic dispute that resulted in lethal force. Half the sample was provided a BWC and told their footage would be available to assist with post-event recall, but it was later feigned that there was a technological issue. The remaining officers were not equipped with a BWC and thus were aware they would not have any footage to rely on. The amount, accuracy, and type of details reported by officers were coded and subjected to analysis. The results revealed that wearing a camera did not promote cognitive offloading in officers, suggesting that the training officers receive, or other factors that might be unique to policing, may mitigate an effect that has been observed in other contexts.