People keep making this same error time and time again.
Though sometimes police can do the “social worker” bit, that is not their primary job, which is to be armed enforcers of what the public as a whole wants, to help keep order. And to continue the pursuit of those who commit crime after the fact. And some limited emergency services that firemen do not do, or have not arrived yet.
But foolish people call the police because their child is being obstinate, or a retarded adult is being a problem again, or an elderly relative is being problematic, etc. And this results far too often in people, even children, being arrested and terrified, and adults and the elderly injured or killed.
It also gets family dogs shot, because police do not want to mess with dogs at all.
So when things like this happen to people, the finger of blame goes to them, first. They got more than they bargained for, or wanted, because they called the wrong people to deal with a minor problem.
Or maybe they are just old enough to remember when one could call the police for assistance without worrying about the whole place getting all shot up.
I will say that he did end up shooting at them, still, perhaps another approach short of holding the old guy under siege might have had a different outcome. This reminds me of the old guy sometime back that just put a sign on his door that said “leave me alone” or something to that effect. Well, they didn’t leave him alone like he had asked, they killed him instead.