I’ve noticed that it happens a lot when they describe police shootings. Each time it makes the perp seem less perpy.
In this case both the headline and the line that I documented take the bat away from the perp.
In the example of the headline, the bat becomes the weapon that the cop is using to shoot the perp.
In the example in the article, the bat becomes the possession of the guy lying on the ground.
I suspect more than a few such headline are meant to be misleading, especially when it serves some larger agenda.