Darnella Frazier, the teenager who recorded the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Officer Derek Chauvin, is getting psychological help.
According to TMZ, the 17-year-old has said that she is utterly traumatized after recording the ordeal with her phone, and has started getting therapy.
Darnella became the target of unwarranted online backlash following the circulation of the footage and had to defend herself.
Her attorney Seth B. Cobin told TMZ that she and her family are no longer living in their house in South Minneapolis (which is just around the corner from the scene Floyd was killed).
The family decided that a change of scenery was best, and have relocated to an undisclosed location to remove themselves from the constant attention and strangers showing up at their doorstep.
Darnella’s neighborhood understandably became a flashpoint for protests in Minneapolis, prompting her family to make the decision to move and get away from all of it.
Cobin revealed that Darnella has also started seeing a therapist who specializes in trauma and fortunately, it is yielding positive results. Otherwise, she is keeping her mind busy with school work.
With regard to her role in the Floyd murder case, the teenager, her mother, and attorney Cobin met with investigators from the FBI Civil Rights Division and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Saturday to give them her statement.
Cobin stated that it was very important for them to speak with the main witness and that Darnella is doing her part. He said: “It’s not an easy story to tell. You’re going back to that place in your head and that’s not an easy way to go back. It was emotional for her to recount her story, and for all of us to hear it.”
Darnella’s phone was taken to a crime lab for extraction of the original video to be used as evidence in Officer’s Chauvin’s trial. Investigators are trying to get in touch with other witnesses seen or heard in the video as well.
