The following essay co-authored by Policing Project founder and faculty director Barry Friedman was published in The Atlantic on January 26, 2026 here.

Carrying a concealed handgun in public is now commonplace in much of the country. For many, this is not only a prudent act of personal safety, but an expression of liberty and a bulwark against government overreach. At the same time, America’s law-enforcement officers insist they must exercise vigilance while patrolling dangerous streets. When officers make a split-second decision to shoot someone who is carrying a gun, many political leaders, especially on the right, believe they need to be given deference because their lives were at risk.

The tension between these two ideas is acute, putting law enforcement and citizens on a potentially catastrophic collision course. One such collision took place in Minnesota on Saturday. It was fatal for the citizen. And it was potentially delegitimizing for law enforcement. A broader crisis of government legitimacy is imminent in the absence of a change in direction by the Trump administration.

Read the full article here.