Part 2 is here! In Episode 10 of True Health Live, Deidre and Precious continue the discussion. They provide additional shares of stressful experiences and personal stories about policing and public health. They also cover the dynamics of being pulled over, what to do, and the overall impact on mental health.
Policing and public health is a global issue. Taking location into account, both our individual and shared experiences (current and historical) shape our perspectives on this matter. But why is it a public health issue? Because for many people of color, it means exposure unnecessary aggression and violence that have both physical and psychological affects. Encounters with police are a matter of life or death which is an underlying cause of stress for many.
For people of color, policing means stress of knowing what could happen, what has happened to those you know and those you don’t means walking on eggshells daily. The question of whether or not one will make it home is maddening. You can be sleeping in your own home and still not be safe.
Making matters worse is fact that there is never any real resolve after most incidents of police violence. According to data from Mapping Police Violence website, almost 99% of murders by “police between 2013 and 2020 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime”.
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