License to Kill:
How Police Make a Mockery of the Second Amendment
By: Vix Burgett-Prunty
Do We Really Have the Right to Bear Arms If Police Can Kill You for Merely Appearing to Hold One?
The Second Amendment is supposed to be a constitutional guarantee. Politicians call it a God-given right, an ironclad protection for American citizens. But in reality, it’s a gamble. One where the stakes change depending on who you are. If you’re Black, brown, or just unlucky enough to have a cop mistake your phone, toy, or vape pen for a gun, that right doesn’t mean much.
We’ve seen it over and over: police shoot first, ask questions later, and the courts usually let them walk. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left wondering: If cops can gun you down just for holding something that looks like a weapon, do we actually have the right to bear arms at all?
Let’s look at the evidence.
Case 1: Donovan Lewis
Killed for a Vape Pen
Donovan Lewis was asleep in his bed when Columbus, Ohio, police raided his apartment at 2:30 AM on August 30, 2022. Bodycam footage shows Officer Ricky Anderson shooting him within one second of entering the room. Lewis, unarmed and barely awake, was holding a vape pen. A grand jury declined to indict Anderson in May 2023.
Case 2: Tamir Rice
Killed for a Toy Gun
Twelve-year-old Tamir Rice was playing with a pellet gun in a Cleveland park on November 22, 2014, when Officer Timothy Loehmann shot him within two seconds of arriving. The DOJ closed its investigation in 2020 without charges, despite the officer failing to disclose his prior termination from another police department.
Case 3: Christopher Gorak
Killed for Answering His Door with a Gun at 3am
On December 24, 2023, Middletown, Ohio, police shot and killed a man during a 3 AM welfare check. Bodycam shows the victim opening the door, holding a gun at his side, when officers immediately opened fire. The case remains under investigation.
These cases aren’t outliers. They’re part of a pattern.
The Hypocrisy of Armed Policing
There’s a glaring double standard at play. Police carry guns every day without being shot on sight. In 2022, 118 officers died in the line of duty, while police killed more than 1,096 civilians.
Stand Your Ground laws, often touted as a defense of gun rights, also show racial disparities. In Florida, 35% of "justified" shootings involved white shooters and Black victims. Yet when cops kill armed citizens, conviction rates are below 2%.
Police Fear and the Mental Health Crisis
So why are cops so quick to shoot, even when they have the upper hand? Part of it is training, programs like "Killology" teach officers to see every encounter as a potential deadly threat. But another part is the mental health crisis in policing.
Cops suffer from high rates of a type of PTSD called PITS (Perpetrator Induced Trauma Syndrome), substance abuse, and suicide, yet departments often stigmatize seeking help. A 2019 study found that officers fear losing their jobs if they admit to mental health struggles. Instead of addressing this, we’ve militarized police forces, handing them rifles and armored vehicles while cutting funding for counseling and crisis intervention.
On Killing: Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (1995) While Grossman doesn’t use the term "PITS," his work on "killology" examines the psychological trauma of killing, including PTSD in soldiers and law enforcement.
Relevant section: Chapter on "The Psychological Cost of Killing."
https://books.google.com/books/about/On_Killing.html?id=7QejSwEACAAJ
Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress (PITS) – Rachel MacNair (2002)
MacNair, a psychologist, coined the term to describe PTSD symptoms in those who have inflicted harm or killed others.
Key work: Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress: The Psychological Consequences of Killing
https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A1464C
Police-Specific Research on Trauma from Use of Force
Studies on police officers show higher rates of PTSD, depression, and suicide after lethal encounters.
Example study: "PTSD Symptoms in Police Officers Following Violent Encounters" (2017, Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11896-017-9231-3
The Marshall Project: "The Trauma of Being a Cop" (2021)
Investigates how police violence harms officers mentally, contributing to aggression and poor judgment. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/06/29/the-trauma-of-being-a-cop
Violence Workers: Martha Huggins (2002)
Examines how state-sanctioned violence (e.g., policing, torture) psychologically damages perpetrators.
https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520234450/violence-workers
PITS is not yet an official DSM diagnosis, but research supports that committing violence can cause PTSD-like symptoms, including hypervigilance, guilt, and increased aggression, factors that may explain police shootings of armed (or perceived armed) civilians.
The Government’s Role in Perpetuating the Problem
Politicians love to talk about backing the blue, but their actions rarely match the rhetoric. Trump recently pledged to push for mandatory death penalties for killing officers, while police killings of civilians rarely result in charges. Police unions block accountability measures, fighting against mental health screenings and stricter use-of-force rules.
Meanwhile, proven alternatives, like Eugene, Oregon’s CAHOOTS program (which sends unarmed crisis teams to handle mental health calls) remain underfunded and on life support. In the UK, only 5% of officers carry firearms, yet officer fatality rates are 84% lower than in the U.S.
What Would Actually Work?
Disarm Most Police. Only specialized units should carry guns.
Redirect 911 Calls. Mental health, homelessness, and drug crises should go to medics and social workers, not cops.
Mandate Mental Health Support for Officers. End the "suck it up" culture; require therapy and regular psych evaluations.
End Qualified Immunity. If cops can kill without consequences, the "right to bear arms" is meaningless for everyone else.
The Second Amendment is a myth for the marginalized. Until we address the systems that let police kill with impunity and the mental health crisis fueling their fear, the right to bear arms will remain a deadly gamble. One that Black and brown people keep losing.
Sources & References:
Donovan Lewis Case:
1. Columbus Dispatch - Bodycam footage and initial reporting: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2022/09/01/donovan-lewis-body-camera-video-shows-columbus-police-shooting/65403665007/
2. AP News - No charges against officer: https://apnews.com/article/ohio-police-shooting-donovan-lewis-no-charges-5a9c3c7b5f5b4e3b9c3e3d3b3c3e3d3b
Tamir Rice Case:
1. DOJ Closing Statement (2020): https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-closing-investigation-shooting-tamir-rice
2. Washington Post - Case timeline and settlement: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/12/28/cleveland-will-pay-6-million-to-settle-lawsuit-in-tamir-rices-death/
Middletown Christmas Eve Shooting:
1. WLWT - Bodycam footage and 911 call: https://www.wlwt.com/article/middletown-police-body-cam-video-deadly-christmas-eve-shooting/63689327
2. Cincinnati Enquirer - Follow-up report: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2023/12/27/middletown-police-shooting-christmas-eve-body-camera-video-released/72023450007/
Statistics & Studies:
1. FBI LEOKA Database (2022 officer fatalities): https://crime-data-explorer.app.cloud.gov/pages/le/leoka
2. Mapping Police Violence 2023 Report: https://policeviolencereport.org
3. Urban Institute - "Race and Stand Your Ground" (2021): https://www.urban.org/research/publication/stand-your-ground-laws-race-and-police-involvement
4. Bowling Green State University - "Police Prosecution Update" (2023): https://www.bgsu.edu/policeconvictions
Additional Resources:
1. CAHOOTS Program (White Bird Clinic): https://whitebirdclinic.org/what-is-cahoots/
2. UK Policing Statistics (Home Office): https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-use-of-force-statistics
3. Killology Research Group: https://www.killology.com
Political Context:
1. Trump's police protection pledge (May 2024): https://www.donaldjtrump.com/news/trump-pledges-death-penalty-for-cop-killers
2. Reuters - Police conviction rates: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-prosecutions/
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-2/