How to Best Support a Victim of Police Misconduct?

With the rising cases of police brutality amongst people of color in the United States, the law enforcement system is under constant scrutiny. Excessive force used by police officers during routine questing, arrest, etc., is increasingly becoming the cause of stress and anxiety, especially for the minorities. During these unfortunate events, if a loved one or an acquaintance of yours is a victim of police brutality, support and compassion are what they need from you, followed by guidance by experienced police misconduct attorneys in New York. Outlined below are some of the best ways to help by offering personal support to a survivor of police misconduct:

• Sharing the Experience- Acknowledging the traumatic incident in its raw, brutal form may be difficult for many; however, sharing the incident by narration can be a good start. For this, they need a safe space among family, friends, and their civil rights attorneys in Manhattan to go through the incident in detail. Some may find it easy to acknowledge the misconduct and be ready to take the next step towards healing, while others may have first dealt with denial and minimization of the issue. In both cases, the survivor must feel safe at all times as they are encouraged to confide in their trusted group.
• Dealing with Negative Emotions- Reflecting back to the rising incidents of police misconduct against minorities, the victims soon become aware of this factor and suffer a myriad of self-deprecating emotions. Shame, self-blame, and internalized racism are some of the self-destructive attacks that the survivor deals with on a daily basis. The struggle intensifies as the victim will have to face these emotions in real-time over and over again, as they face the abuser and fight for their civil rights and attain justice in court.
• Coping with Anger- it has been seen by experienced civil rights attorneys in Manhattan and trauma counselors that when processing any form of trauma, self-blame and internalized devaluation often stem to make sense of the causal factors. For example, victims of police brutality may experience their ethnicity or race as a reason why they were abused, and this self-blame soon manifests itself into anger or rage in an unhealthy way of coping. Therefore, experts recommend that all trauma survivors seek professional care to help them diverge onto healthy and sustainable coping strategies, identify and validate their feelings, and channel them in healthy ways to prevent self-destructive behavior.

Survivors of misconduct at the hands of law enforcers can be a challenging experience as the victim fights for justice in court and also internally deals with the emotional aftermath of the trauma. Seeking guidance and counseling from a compassionate and experienced team of police brutality attorneys in New York is a great first start towards a healing process.