After body cam footage of fatal police shooting released, some remind to prioritize mental health
MINNEAPOLIS -- At a rally Saturday in St. Paul, demands were made for more video be released of the deadly police shooting that killed Howard Johnson.
"Release the footage... release the footage," cried out Monique Johnson, the victim's mother.
Some footage was released on Thursday that showed what appeared to be St. Paul Police Sgt. Cody Blanshan shooting and killing Johnson. For many, videos such as these can be hard to watch.
"With the presence of social media you see more than you sometimes should," said Jessica Villery, an occupational therapist at PrairieCare. "Any time you see something that violent and unfiltered, it can be traumatizing to see something like that and we all respond differently to different things. I think that's one of the biggest things when it comes to trauma is we all experience it differently."
"It's traumatizing to see it. But it's also traumatizing to live in a community where you can be killed by the police because you're black," said Trahern Cruz, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota and the organizer of Saturday's rally at Wilder Recreation Center.
Some believe in the importance of watching these graphic videos. But addressing it with your kids is its own dilemma.
"When it comes to kids seeing things versus adults, we're going to process them differently because of where we're at cognitively," said Villery. "Know your limitations as a parent. Listen, listen, listen."
Villery advises to evaluate yourself and decide whether to watch or not.
"I choose not to watch them," she said. "People can choose at their own discretion, but understanding that if those types of things make you feel anxious, you don't have to watch them."