CHICAGO (WBBM Newsradio) -- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has said the body cam video of a police officer fatally shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo is “not something you want children to see.”
But inevitably some children will see it, and parents will have to deal with their reaction.
WBBM Newsradio turned to Dr. Matthew Davis, head of pediatrics at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Davis says children younger than 7 or 8 should be protected from seeing the video because it will be very hard for them to process the violence. Older children will likely come across all or parts of the video online, he said.
“In those situations it’s important as a parent to say, ‘What have you seen? How is it making you feel? Let’s talk about it.’”
Dr. Davis said if kids do see the video, parents should encourage them to not keep watching it. Watching such an incident is not healthy for children.
Toledo was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer early March 29 in a Little Village alley. Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Thursday released the officer’s body camera video of the shooting death, which is explicit, and other materials. COPA continues to investigate.
Davis added that parents can get caught up in emotions surrounding the videos. They should take some time to consider how they can support themselves.
“Because viewing a video like this can stay with a person for awhile, and the tragedy of the loss of life in this video is something that is painful for human beings to see,” he said.
Related
