Scott was pulled over for a taillight infraction. This was not a felon traffic stop with suspected violent people involved.
Resisting arrest is a misdemeanor. Striking or assaulting a cop is a felony. (Although I have not heard of any injuries to the cop). In my state (Washington) the law says that you can shoot a person fleeing a felony. BUT - it sounds like the Supreme Court has overruled all of those types of laws.
However, just a few years ago, a private citizen shot a kid in the back (In WA state) that had broken in and was running away with a couple hundred bucks worth of stuff. So perhaps that wasn't just a “fleeing felon”, but seeing as the kid still had the stuff, was preventing the felony.
But what if Scott had stuck a knife in the cop - left the knife there, and ran away. No weapon on him anymore, so not an imminent risk to anyone (one could argue). Does that mean a cop can't shoot him as he is running away from a stabbing? I would find that hard to believe.
Will the State get the traffic fine from any estate? I'm surprised that cops are allowed to murder people before they pay up.