Reread the article. Nowhere does it state that he had a gun in his hand.
In fact, it specifically states:
“Thomas was found with a gun next to his body, but police haven’t said where that gun came from or whether Thomas even had it in his hand when he was shot. “
Local news articles are available on the Internet; that you have not supplied them suggests none of them corroborate your “brandishing” claim.
“But we can’t predict that, and we can’t know that when someone has a gun in their hand.”
That explanation is little comfort to Thomas’ friend and cousin.
Columbus Police Chief Kimberley Jacobs said it’s impossible for officers to predict what a person intends to do when that person approaches with a weapon.
Police officers, though, say they have little time to sort out a situation when someone is holding a weapon.