ABSTRACT
In recent years, there has been a barrage of social media posts about police brutality toward Black Americans. While the posting of police brutality videos on social media can certainly have a positive impact on legal cases and public policies, what effect does the exposure have on the mental health of Black Americans? This article uses a review of the literature to investigate the reasons why Black Americans can be significantly impacted by exposure to police brutality videos. It also includes a case study of a Black American male who developed posttraumatic stress disorder in response to such videos in the context of a forensic evaluation.
Acknowldgement
I thank Loren Russel, M.A. for his insights on PTSD during the inception of this case report; Nicole Hill, M.A., Hattie Jean Isen, Ph.D., and Antoinette E. Kavanaugh, Ph.D. for draft reviews and editing suggestions; and Aniefiok Isen, DPT for his support throughout this process.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).