Not at all. They could have used a bull horn or the store intercom to tell him to put the gun down and no one would have been hurt.
That was the first thought that occurred to me, as well. But, like you say, in the vast majority of cases there are no consequences for wrongful death by cop, so what motivation is there for cops to think of non-lethal approaches? None. To them, due to the modern police culture, civilian life is cheap.
I don't think cops ever go into a situation like this just not giving a crap if they kill someone or not. I think they simply act in the manner they have been trained to act. We live in hard times. I would like to see changes, but there are no easy answers.
Kudos on a fine piece of well thought out text,
yup, the "Answers" become more elusive, and will be remaining so.
GTC
Member, Clan of the Border Rats -- “Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”- Mark Twain
