From the article: “....But she told officers she thought it was a BB gun or pellet gun. There were no indications he was armed....”
It seems to me like police officers should not be expected to discern, in the microsecond that they are fearing for their lives, as to whether the gun someone has is lethal or not. They should be allowed to believe a gun is a gun, for the sake of protecting themselves.
JMHO
True, but the mere suspicion of having a real gun isn't enough reason to shoot someone. There ought to be an actual imminent threat. What was it here?