I don’t know if they knew him by sight; his last encounter with the cops was on March 15th for dealing cocaine, so it’s a real possibility. Not a justification for killing him, though.
“Not a justification for killing him, though.”
If one is a known violent felon, (on parole?), making the police chase and tackle you is a risk you choose to take.
I doubt that the police “killed” him. More likely he facilitated his own demise.