According to the news, the driver was being chased through the streets around the Capitol at up to 80 mph, after trying to crash through a gate at the White House. From your armchair, it's easy to say: she was mentally ill, she didn't know what she was doing. But, the police didn't know that at the time.
Even without any explosives, that car was effectively a 3000 lb battering ram. Plug 3000 lb and 80 mph in to your calculator, and you get nearly 1.5 megajoules of energy. For comparison, that's about the same as 3/4 lb of high explosives. A 7.62x39 rifle bullet packs only about 3900 joules.
If she was out of the car and had been waving a knife around, I would agree with you: they overreacted. But, if she had been threatening someone with a gun, would have have blamed the police for shooting her?
This is a problem that police face: an automobile can be a deadlier weapon than any handheld firearm. When someone is using as a weapon, what do you do?
If someone had already injured another person by hitting them, and was threatening to do the same to you -- what would you do, if you had a responsibility to stop them?
In all the years I have lived in L.A. (which has car chases every day), I have never seen the cops simply open fire on a vehicle like this during a car chase. They use the spike strips, they try and box the car in, they pursue for miles and miles.
Her "weapon" doesn't appear to show any signs that she ever hit anything with it (at least not the front... perhaps the rear as she was backing up to avoid being shot).
From your armchair maybe, but I've made no such conclusion. She might have been simply terrified.
Even without any explosives, that car was effectively a 3000 lb battering ram.
Your argument here is totally spurious, because at the time she was shot the car was stopped.
But, if she had been threatening someone with a gun, would have have blamed the police for shooting her?
They could see her well enough to know that there was no gun pointed at them.
This is a problem that police face: an automobile can be a deadlier weapon than any handheld firearm.
Back to the false premise eh? Earth to justlurking: that means you don't have an argument. The car was on dirt. Shooting out the tires would have disabled it without spraying fragments anywhere.
If someone had already injured another person by hitting them, and was threatening to do the same to you -- what would you do, if you had a responsibility to stop them?
There is no proof that she was threatening anybody once the car had crashed.
Shooting people is so much easier than doing the job. Safer too. We PAY these officers to take risks. Now, in the name of "officer safety" they just shoot people and collect "hazard pay," including their ridiculous pensions.
We have officers of the San Jose, CA police department making over $250,000 a year. For that kind of money, I can reasonably expect them to take some serious risks to protect and serve.
Best you buy that book and read it. The numbers would shock you.