Observation, Documentation, and Report Writing
Observation
Perception is not a camera. Distance, light, stress, expectancy, and bias distort memory. Under stress, tunnel vision and time distortion are normal. Record what you perceived - "the man ran east on Market Street at 2214" - not what you inferred ("the man fled the scene").
Describe people head to toe: sex, age range, height, build, hair, facial hair, clothing top to bottom, shoes, marks, items carried, direction of travel. For vehicles note color, make, model, plate, damage, occupants. Read the plate from nearest to farthest character and repeat it aloud.
Writing the report
A defensible report is factual, objective, chronological, first person, past tense, complete, and timely. It answers who, what, when, where, how, who else was present, what you did, and who was notified. Use exact times on a 24-hour clock, exact quotes in quotation marks, and "approximately" when estimating. Write behavior, not conclusions: not "he was drunk" but "he staggered, smelled of an alcoholic beverage, and slurred his words."
Avoid opinions, labels, slang, guesses at motive, and words like "obviously" or "apparently." Do not erase. Correct with a single line through the error, then initial and date it. Never backdate, and never discard notes - they may be subpoenaed.
Traps
Reports written days later; copying a coworker's narrative; omitting your own use of force or mistakes; claiming you "observed" what a camera recorded; including unnecessary medical or personal data.
Rule of thumb
If it is not in the report, it did not happen. Write so that a stranger who was not there can see what you saw.