[School of Rational Thought]

A long pole like that, maybe bull rushing the drunk would have been a workable alternative. Nonetheless, cop legally could shoot an attacker.

[boycott]

Wrestling with the person would have put the officer at risk of the man taking the officer’s weapon. Also, the officer didn’t know if the man was just drunk or on drugs (bath salts, crack, meth, etc.). The officer would have put his life on the line to wrestle with him. I don’t blame him for not doing that.