Psychologist offers advice if you're feeling traumatized watching the trial in the death of George Floyd
LOS ANGELES - If you're feeling the heartbreak and finding the trial in the death of George Floyd hard to watch, you're not alone. It's been three days of gut-wrenching testimony from witnesses and video that captured Floyd's last moments and words.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Gloria Morrow says watching the live court proceedings can be traumatizing. She says the witnesses are not only reliving what happened but experiencing PTSD.
Morrow offers advice on how to deal with the trauma. For the community wanting information, but not wanting to watch the live court proceeding she suggests watching a recap of the Derek Chauvin trial.
Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer is accused of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd on Memorial Day of 2020. It sparked nationwide protests and outrage after a video showed Chauvin with his knee on Floyd's neck as he lay handcuffed on the ground for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, not the infamous 8:46.
Morrow says to don't feel shame in asking for help if you're having a hard time. She says for the African-American community it can be especially traumatizing given fear in the community of police abuse and past cases that made national news.
On Day 3 of the trial, the prosecution showed the jury video from the body camera Chauvin. The morning testimony saw a witness breaking down on the stand. In the new footage, bystander Charles McMillian can be heard telling a handcuffed Floyd to stop struggling saying "you can't win."
The prosecution also showed words exchanged between McMillian and officer Chauvin after Floyd had been taken away by ambulance.
Another new piece of video shown was from a security camera inside Cup Foods where Floyd was accused of handing a cashier a counterfeit $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes. The 19-year-old cashier alerted his manager, and the police were eventually called. The young man told the jury that he feels guilty knowing alerting his manager ultimately led to Floyd's death.
Below is the interview with Dr. Morrow:
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