Ok guys...is this one justified?

 

I mentioned a buddy of mine that used to be a cop in another thread.  He had to shoot a guy advancing on him with a knife.  This guy took his own son hostage with a knife at his throat.  They managed to get the boy away from him and he took off.  They pursued and had him surrounded in a parking lot behind a bar.  He wildly flailed at them with the knife.  Now, this was shortly after this department was issued pepper spray.  No tasers were available yet.  They hit this guy full in the face with (2) 2oz canisters of this stuff and it had no effect on him.  The order was to back off and give him an avenue to escape so they could try again.  Instead of taking off, he advanced on my friend and backed him into the corner of the parking lot in the corner of two buildings.  My buddy gave him several loud commands to drop the knife and get on the ground.  He came within 10 feet (way too close IMHO) before he fired two shots to they guy's chest.

 

Just a couple of years ago, same department a woman with a large knife advanced on two officers inside her house after they responded to a domestic violence call.  The officers backed away out of the house.  She came after them.  They backed all the way to their vehicles all the time giving her loud verbal commands to drop the knife.  When she kept coming they opened fire and stopped her.

 

In both of these occasions, the people were outraged that deadly force was used against someone with a knife.  They were even more incensed when the investigations by the state police and the Sheriff's department vindicated each of the officer's actions as they followed the department's policy & procedures and the use of force continuum.

 

Now had Mr. Katana Man survived his ordeal - he'd be thanking his lucky stars that those cops didn't react immediately with deadly force.  Those officers were well within their rights to use it.