” People aren’t exactly calm and taking notes when it goes down.”
In the book “Public Opinion” by Walter Lipmann, the author relates a test done on a room full of (can’t recall, investigators?). They were in an auditorium when a white man bursts in, dressed as a clown. (This was of course, staged and well rehearsed.) A black man races after him. They have a fight in the aisle, the black man pulls a gun and shoots at the white man. They both run out. The speaker says, “Quick, there is bound to be an investigation, everybody write down what you saw.” Only a handful of accounts were even remotely factual. The rest ranged from a few fanciful elements to pure invention. This, from a room full of professional people who were not themselves involved in this staged event.
I have a family member who conducted many investigations for the Air Force. The opinion was that eye witness testimony had to be taken with a large grain of salt.
Especially if this people are left wing Broward County types.