ABSTRACT
Recent killings of unarmed Black males by police officers have shed light on a public health dilemma—the negative psychological health outcomes for Blacks indirectly and directly exposed to police brutality. Despite research examining law enforcement implicit biases and discriminatory policing practices against Blacks, there remains a significant gap in the social science literature investigating police brutality and its adverse psychological effects. The authors discuss policy implications, recommendations for reducing the severity of force in police–civilian interactions, the traumas for both police officers and Black civilians, and recommendations for training police officers on brutality’s psychological consequences.
