[thefactor]

"5) The cops told him to drop the knife 6) he didn't"

that is the only part that matters. what if he took one step towards the cops with the knife after they told him to freeze and drop the knife. what if he lunged quickly?

where do you draw the line? it is proven that someone with a knife can cover the average distance of an armed confrontation in a matter of a second or two. inside it's worse since there are fewer escape options.

[bobaloobob]

Factor...here’s a good one...one of many right here on FR.

Title:POLICE SHOOT KILL WOMAN WHO THREATENED SUICIDE
March 07,2009

[TalonDJ]

All certainly true. Mistakes were made if/when people moved withing lunge range of him. Assuming other people had already left the house the best thing would have been to discuss with the guy from a distance. Putting themselves within stabbing range got the guy killed. I don't fault the cops for defending themselves. I fault them for making choices that made it necessary to defend themselves. If (assumption on my part) only the knife guy was in the room then they should have stayed out of it. Instead (apparently) they put themselves in a situation where they had to defend themselves. Who was served by that? Who was protected by that? Themselves?