Some choose to skip Tyre Nichols bodycam video to protect mental health

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Although Something Good In Englewood Operations Director Justin Morgan agrees with the decision to release the footage of Tyre Nichols' deadly encounter with Memphis police, he said he will not watch it.

"Certain things when you see it, you can't unsee it. And I don't want to see that," he said.

Morgan said he has viewed videos of police violence in the past, but now he no longer wants to subject himself to that.

"I have PTSD from just the violence we see every day. I'm honestly still not over George Floyd," Morgan said.

And he's not alone.

"I have historically have watched the videos, but more recently I have started to slow down how much I even watch them," NU psychiatry professor Sheehan Fisher said.

He said watching the videos can cause sadness and anxiety, particularly among Black people.

"They see these images over and over again for these different incidents and they start to realize they can be impacted by the events. And I think it makes them more afraid," Dr. Fisher said.

Dr. Obari Cartman, who heads the Chicago Association of Black Psychologists, said people should give themselves time to decide whether to view police body-cam videos.

"Make a decision about it and really think through. Why am I going to watch it? What would I get out of it, prepare yourself for it. And I'm not ready yet," he said.

Morgan hopes this latest incident will bring about overdue change in policing.

"Regardless of the race of the cops, it's systemic issue and there's no reason why five or six officers beat on an unarmed man," he said.