If the cop had ever been a paperboy, back when there were "paper boys," then the moron would have known the difference between a real threat and a perceived threat... When to kill and when not to kill.
Only a former paperboy will understand this.
Sorry, I don't know of any paperboys who are required to make "felony stops" and expose themselves to such dangerous situations. My daughter was bitten in the face by a "friendly" pitbull and required plastic surgery to correct the damage done by the "friendly" dog who was wagging its tail as it approached her. The dog that bit my daughter was not operating in a strange situation where his family was being treated in a manner he did not understand. I have had many dogs in my life... and everyone of them would have attacked ANYONE who was mistreating one of our family members. That same daughter that was bitten was later SAVED from being attacked by one of our dogs who jumped on the badguy and bit him bloody. That same dog probably would not be able to distinguish a rapist from a police officer handcuffing one of her own and would attack either with the same agressiveness and enthusiasm.
A boss I once had was bitten by a pitbull who was on a chain that was too long for safety. As my boss knocked on the front door of a house a the dog on a 50 foot chain, tethered 30 feet away, attacked him. His left arm was bitten to the bone and the dog's jaws had to be PRIED off of his arm before the dog would let go, even with the dog's owner screaming at him to stop. Officer Hall did not need wait for such a bite before defending himself.
There are some on this thread who advocated a "warning shot" to scare the dog... or shooting to wound the dog. "Warning shots" are NOT PERMITTED under police procedure. Shooting in the air is forbidden because what goes UP must come DOWN and could hit a truly innocent somewhere in range. Shooting toward the ground can result in bouncing bullets and also may hit bystanders. Police are not trained to shoot to wound; too many police officers are killed by a wounded perpetrator. But that is not really germaine to this incident.
Officer Hall was carrying his short barrelled 12 gauge shotgun which had a flashlight mounted on it. The dog was either jumping toward Hall aggressively or Playfully toward the light (if you accept the Smoaks' story that they and General Patton played keep-away with a flashlight)... either way, Hall had no time to aim the shotgun except in the general direction of the dog. If the dog thought it was playing with a flashlight, then General Patton inadvertently aimed his head at the end of the shotgun when it went was fired and he took the shotload in the head. If Hall was defending himself as he stepped back, he shot at a moving target in mid-leap and the head shot was probably more luck than intentional. I do not believe that any shot at that range connecting with the dog would have been survivable (at best the dog would have been maimed and been put down after considerable agony and suffering).