When a person suffers a traumatic brain injury, the effects on memory, cognition, and communication can be profound, and those effects can dramatically alter how a police interrogation unfolds. As a brain injury lawyer can share, interviewing an individual with a brain injury requires special care, accommodations, and legal awareness from both defense and law enforcement.
The Effects Of Brain Injury On Memory And Communication
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) may produce deficits in short-term memory, delayed recall, confusion, speech difficulties, or changes in attention span. These symptoms can persist for days, weeks, or even permanently, depending on the severity and location of the injury. In an interrogation context, that means:
- The individual may have difficulty recalling precise timelines or names
- They might mix up events or confabulate unintentionally
- They may struggle with complex questions or multi-step instructions
- They may provide inconsistent or fragmented answers
Impairments as severe as a TBI mean that the reliability of statements made is highly questionable. Additionally, when police ask leading questions or pressure for quick answers, a brain‐injured person may inadvertently slip, retract, or contradict statements without malicious intent.
Risks Of False Confessions And Misstatements
Because memory is malleable and suggestible under normal conditions, the risks increase when cognitive capacity is compromised. In some cases, individuals with brain injuries may become vulnerable to coercion, fatigue, or the desire to please an interrogator. They may agree to statements or confessions just to end the stress of questioning, even when they’re not truthful. They might later recant, claim misunderstanding, or retract based on memory inaccuracies.
Under criminal law, such issues are relevant to the voluntariness, reliability, and admissibility of statements. If an individual cannot reliably understand or respond to interrogation, their statements may be challenged as involuntary or involuntarily coerced.
Duty Of Law Enforcement To Accommodate Injured Suspects
Law enforcement officers are not typically trained in brain injury awareness, yet best practices call for caution. In cases where an officer knows (or should know) a suspect has a brain injury, there should be:
- Use of simplified language and yes/no clarifications
- Extra breaks and pacing to avoid fatigue
- Access to medical or neuropsychological evaluation before significant questioning
- Presence of legal counsel before interrogation
- Audio/video recording to preserve context
Being unable to adapt to these situations could lead to any statements made being challenged, thrown out entirely, or cast as unreliable.
Role Of Defense In Protecting The Injured
Defense teams must advocate assertively. That includes:
- Requesting a medical or neuropsychological assessment early
- Using provider testimony to explain memory or cognitive deficits
- Attacking the reliability and voluntariness of statements during pretrial motions
- Exploring whether police followed protocols or ignored warning signs
Our friends at Ausman Law Firm P.C., L.L.O. know that presenting evidence showing that the injured person’s responses were impaired, not intentionally evasive, can be a major piece of a defensive strategy.
Mitigating Interrogation Risk After Injury
Here are practical steps for someone with a suspected brain injury when facing police interaction:
- Ask for medical evaluation and documentation before submitting to detailed questioning
- Insist upon having counsel present immediately
- Request breaks, simplified language, or reading back of questions
- Refrain from detailed questioning until the cognitive state is assessed
Because brain injury can alter the very capacity to understand or respond, those protections are essential.
In police interrogations, what seems like a volunteer statement may be far from voluntary when a brain injury is in play. The symptoms of cognitive impairment, memory distortion, speech difficulty, and fatigue increase the risk of unfair outcomes. Defense attorneys must remain alert, insist on accommodations, and question the validity of any statement collected under such conditions.
If you or someone you know faces interrogation and has sustained a head injury, no matter how mild, take the signs seriously. Talk to a lawyer in your area today.