Slips and capture is a type of error that may occur in high-stress situations. According to studies in the pscychology of human error, a person may inadvertently perform one action while intending to do another.
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In the early 21st century in the United States, the term "slips and capture" became more widely known after being referred to by law enforcement in two prominent fatal police shooting cases in 2009 and 2015. In both cases, the police officer claimed to have shot a suspect while allegedly intending to use a Taser.
During a CNN interview in 2015, after this term was used by the Tulsa Police Department in reference to a fatal shooting there, a criminal justice expert said that there was no scientific basis for the theory of "slip and capture", and that most courts would reject the argument as inadmissible. But, the concept of "slips and capture" is studied in the psychology of human error, and efforts to prevent error. It was thoroughly described in 1990 by James Reason.
"Slips and capture" is a phrase made notable by police use-of-force consultant Bill Lewinski in 2009 as part of the defense of a BART officer charged with the fatal shooting of a suspect in an Oakland, California light transit station. Lewinski was reported by the Wall Street Journal to have a doctorate in psychology from Union Institute & University, an online college. His company, "Force Science Institute," specializes in consulting to police departments, advertising on its website: “We save lives and reputations.” Lewinski published a newsletter article on the "Slips and Capture" theory in "Force Science News #154" after he began work on the defense of the BART officer charged for murder in the January 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant.
The concept has been addressed in efforts to improve business and medical practices in order to avoid preventable error. Both terms are used in error terminology: slips are defined as "errors in the performance of skill-based behaviors, typically when our attention is diverted;" and capture refers to "a type of slip where a more frequent and more practiced behavior takes place when a similar, but less familiar, action was intended."
Shooting of Oscar Grant
Early on New Year's Day of 2009, Oscar Grant III was fatally shot by Bay Area Rapid Transit officer Johannes Mehserle, who was detaining the young man after a reported fight on the train. At his bail hearing in late January 2009, Mehserle said that he had intended to use his Taser, but inadvertently grabbed his pistol instead. In 2010 a jury convicted Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter, acquitting him of charges of voluntary manslaughter.
Shooting of Eric Courtney Harris
44-year-old Eric Courtney Harris was shot to death April 2, 2015 by Tulsa city police during an undercover sting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As Harris was being subdued, Tulsa County Reserve Deputy Robert Charles “Bob” Bates, 73, fatally shot Harris in the back, according to the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. Bates used the concept of "slips and capture" in his defense, claiming he had intended to use his Taser on Harris.