The world hasn’t changed so much that this kind of thing should be legal.
“.....this kind of thing should be legal.”
If it happened the way part of the media told, the police wee wrong in using lethal force.
During the time he was driving he was alleged to have run a few red lights according to the caption below the picture on the thread entry when other sources like CBS said one.
Once the car was stopped, and under control, and the man stepped out of the car, he was no longer a threat unless he was going to throw the knife. But the article didn’t say that he did anything other than holding the knife. That doesn’t make him a threat requiring lethal force.
According to Minnesota statute 609.066
AUTHORIZED USE OF DEADLY FORCE BY PEACE OFFICERS:
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 609.06 or 609.065, the use of deadly force by a peace officer in the line of duty is justified only when necessary:
(1) to protect the peace officer or another from apparent death or great bodily harm;
(2) to effect the arrest or capture, or prevent the escape, of a person whom the peace officer knows or has reasonable grounds to believe has committed or attempted to commit a felony involving the use or threatened use of deadly force; or
(3) to effect the arrest or capture, or prevent the escape, of a person whom the officer knows or has reasonable grounds to believe has committed or attempted to commit a felony if the officer reasonably believes that the person will cause death or great bodily harm if the person’s apprehension is delayed.
.06 and .65 do not apply here.
None of what was explained fell into the categories of legal use of deadly force as the person yielding the knife was not advancing toward the officers and had not been determined to have committed any crime with the only weapon he had visible as the car was immobilized. They may have a problem justifying this one.
rwood