USA Today reports that there are some that have major psychological trauma from being arrested or watching police videos.
Prairie View A&M University senior Jesse Valdez is featured in the column. Each image of an unarmed person of color being brutalized by police brings him overwhelming anxiety. He’s seeking a professional diagnosis for post-traumatic stress disorder.
He routinely experiences severe heart palpitations and panic attacks. Driving can be particularly scary.
Valdez’s increasing anxiety points to issues seldom talked about in conversations surrounding police use of force and the psychological scars that result.
If the assertion is hard to believe, don’t worry. USA Today points to LaWanna Gunn-Williams, a marriage and family therapist and psychotherapist that said it is possible for people to develop PTSD after repeatedly viewing footage of police shooting civilians.
Read the article if you want a headache but we warned you…..