Not this time.
They had a killer pulling a gun in a crowd.
No win situation.
There was a thread the other day with video.
I watched the video. Looks like they called him out from several yards away. He drew his pistol from a bag, but he didn't point it at them immediately. I suspect he was looking for suicide-by-cop.
They probably could have just walked right up to him without calling him out and taken care of it one way or another without increased risk to the bystanders. I suspect poor judgement influenced the outcome. And yes, it is a judgement call, and yes, the police are responsible for having good judgement. Especially in a place like New York which is effectively a no-self-defense zone.