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Originally Posted by analog
I disagree. The job itself requires mental conditioning that justifies the actions taken necessary to quell a dangerous situation. Given all the factors, I don't think they'll have any "guilt" or second-guessing at all. They did what they had to do- finding out he's mentally ill, either before or after he was shot, has no bearing on his actions and their effect. They did their job well.
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Analog,
I'm afraid I must disagree with your disagreement. While in the Air Force, we responded to a domestic dispute in base housing. A wife had found out that her husband had been cheating on her. They had both been drinking and the wife had a knife. She ignored our repeated demands to drop the knife. She claimed that she was going to kill her husband and if we got in her way, she'd stab us, too. The ranking person at the scene made the split-second decision to shoot her after she charged us with the knife. She shot her in the leg.
She was one of the most professional NCOs in our squadron with 16 years in service. Air Force Security Police (I think they're called Security Forces now) are highly trained with their weapons and on the conditions of when deadly force may be used. Even though she received commendations for her actions for diffusing the situation, saving the life of the husband and not seriously wounding the wife, the fact that she shot another person affected her to the point that she could no longer carry a weapon.
What I'm saying is that even though people are highly trained, actually shooting a person can have serious consequences for someone with a conscience about that sort of thing. Granted, my story is only an anecdote, but I think it illustrates that even a highly trained person can be affected by being forced to shoot another person.
In this case, the shooting resulted in the death of what turned out to be an unarmed person. Even if he believes he was justified in shooting this man, I am certain he will be dealing with his decision. A criminal may not have a conscience about shooting and killing another person, but an honest man most likely will.
This is mainly why I stated earlier that there are no winners in this situation.
Now, feel free to disagree with my disagreeing with your disagreement.
