is sleep. The brain focuses on problem solving and the resolution of emotional concerns during sleep, particularly during REM sleep (which is when most dreaming occurs). This sleep cycle helps the brain consolidate unusual information that requires a good deal of adaptation in order for it to be absorbed. In fact, REM sleep cycles happen more frequently and last longer for individuals who are placed in circumstances in which they must process great quantities of new information. Although you may not remember much about a traumatic incident right after it occurs, you should experience significant memory recovery after a good night’s sleep.
If your initial night’s sleep is disturbed, however, memory recovery may be disrupted. Further, if you are rendered unconscious or injured to the extent that you require an operation involving general anesthesia, there is a good possibility that normal memory recovery will be greatly disrupted. Your ability to remember crucial details about a violent incident and subsequently to defend yourself in court is greatly influenced by the memory recovery process. Do everything you can to safeguard your first night’s sleep after any violent encounter.
Expect to be debriefed by law enforcement professionals shortly after a fight. If your memory about what occurred is fuzzy, take extra caution to avoid guessing to fill in the blanks. Anything you guess about may be held against you in a court of law. Better still; wait until your attorney is present before making any statements.
Traumatic situations are frequently associated with critical incident amnesia. The greater the stress, the greater your potential of experiencing memory problems. Although you may not remember much about a traumatic incident right after it occurs, you should experience significant memory recovery after a good night’s sleep. Do everything you can to safeguard your first night’s sleep after any violent encounter.
Don’t Exaggerate, Don’t Threaten
Hence the saying: if you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.
When you opponent is hurrying recklessly, you must act contrarily, and keep calm. You must not be influenced by the opponent. Train diligently to attain this spirit.
“They have never hung a mute. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court of law.” That is what an attorney told Wilder some fifteen years ago. He was right then and he is right now. Don’t exaggerate; it will be interpreted in the worst light when it is read in court. And don’t threaten because there is no question, no doubt without exception, that it is going to be used against you in court. Celebrities, politicians, and other powerful individuals often attempt to throw their weight around when dealing with the police, thinking that their name, reputation, or wealth will buy them special treatment. Despite some notorious and highly publicized exceptions, it usually ends badly for them, and almost certainly will for you, too, if you try to go that route.
When the police arrive, they will talk to everybody and write down everything they hear. What is written is neither screened nor reviewed. It is put into the report and the report goes into the official record. Any half-truths, lies, or whatever you utter will get written down and it will be read into court as fact. Don’t hang yourself with your own words.
Officers are there to ascertain the truth, gathering unbiased facts and evidence about what transpired. They are not there to hand you a medal for heroism under adversity even if you really did act heroically. If, in their best judgment, there is probable cause that you should be locked up because you committed a crime, then that’s exactly what will happen. Not exactly fair, but common enough nevertheless, especially if you used a weapon and there is no compelling evidence (for example, witnesses, closed circuit video tape) that you used it in self-defense. The way you interact with police officers when they arrive is critical to your continued well-being. No matter how upset, injured, angry, insulted, or unsettled you are, never forget that your words and demeanor can significantly affect the tone of the entire encounter and the eventual outcome.
Whether or not you are arrested hinges on a concept known as “probable cause.” Probable cause means that the responding officer has a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed and that you are the perpetrator. This belief can be based upon several factors, including direct observation, professional expertise, circumstantial evidence, or factual information. Officers will make a decision based upon what, if anything, they saw during the incident, what they can infer about the incident based upon professional experience, physical evidence or other factors at the scene, statements from witnesses, victims, or suspects, available video surveillance, and other relevant data.
Approach the responding officer(s) positively. Police are people too. They likely have the same emotional makeup that you do. Officers arriving on the scene will be encountering an unknown, potentially hostile environment, where one or more combatants may have been, and possibly still are, armed. Like any sane person, they will be concerned, cautious, and likely at least a little bit scared. Since they do not know exactly what transpired, they also do not know who the good guy is and who the bad guy is yet.
A confrontational attitude will do you no good and may well guarantee that you will be arrested or possibly even shot. Even undercover officers have been killed on occasion by their uniformed counterparts when they failed to follow directions immediately and/ or did not identify themselves properly. For example, on January 12, 2001 undercover police officer William Alberto Wilkins was shot and killed by fellow officers in Oakland California. Detective Wilkins, a seven-year veteran with the Oakland PD, was working a narcotics stakeout when he spotted a stolen car pass by. He pursued and caught the car thief near San Leandro and was holding the suspect at gunpoint in a driveway when the two uniformed officers arrived. Misunderstanding the scene, at least one of the responding officers opened fire, striking Wilkins several times in the upper torso. Eleven shell casings were found at the scene. Wilkins died at Highland Hospital a few hours later. He was survived by his wife and ten-month-old son.
If you are training a weapon on a subdued attacker, be sure to follow responding officer’s instructions immediately without any hesitation. While the officer does not know whether you are the good guy, he knows with absolute certainty that you are armed and dangerous. You don’t want to survive a violent confrontation only to be killed afterward due to a preventable misunderstanding.
Be respectful, courteous, obedient, and kind but remember that the officer(s) is not your friend—not your enemy either, but still not your friend. The officer’s job is to secure the environment, provide for aid, gather facts, and enforce the law. Consequently, he or she will not necessarily be on your side no matter how prudently you acted, at least not until all the facts are known.
You may not be arrested, but if you are, do not resist for any reason. Similarly, do not interfere with an attempt to arrest anyone who is with you at the time. Attempting to flee, evade, or elude responding officers is almost certainly going to make you look guilty and result in a chase and subsequent detention.
Control your emotions to the extent possible. Carefully and calmly, explain what happened so that the responding officer(s) will know that you are the good guy. Retain your composure and conduct yourself in a mature manner at all times, avoiding any words or actions that may appear threatening or volatile. Never forget that police are trained interrogators. They will note your body language, speech patterns, and eye movements to help ascertain your probable guilt or innocence when deciding whether to make an arrest. Worse yet, officers will err on the side of caution, so even a suspicion of guilt may be enough to earn you a night in jail.
Remember the section on critical incident amnesia? Your memory will probably not be firing on all cylinders. Say as little as possible. Here is an example of something you might say that is perfectly honest and should be relatively well received:
