So why didn’t they just shoot her? Cops are damned quick to shoot other folks just because they can see that there is something in a fellow’s hand or because they think a guy might be thinking about reaching into his pocket to get a gun that just might be there. There wasn’t even a dog nearby for them to shoot so they surely should have shot her. What is so special about the woman with the cudgel?
As soon as she announced that she was a lesbian, use of force became a civil rights issue with potential to end a career or to interfere with future promotion decisions. The usual “tase them at the least provocation” strategy went out the window at that point.