???
Is it o.k. for a cop to defend himself, but not "Joe Citizen"?
Heres a scenario. Say the police office made the stop. Driver tried to run cop over and flees down the highway. Lets say the cop doesn't fire weapon but makes report to dispatch. It the fleeing car gets into an accident a few miles down the road and killed some US citizens, what do you think poster on FR would be saying? Would the US citizens sue the police officer for not detaining the driver when he was stopped. Just curious.
When the guy runs away, the officer is no longer defending himself. He is acting as an agent of society. I'm sure there are circumstances in which a citizen could make an argument that the attacker posed such an obvious threat to others that deadly force was required. I wouldn't want to sit in the witness chair and make that argument. Even if it was true, that means a lot of people got maimed or dead before it got to that point.