I have to side with the officer on this one, just like on most. He was put in a position of letting a mob of people burst into the room of government officials he was charged with protecting or firing his firearm and hopefully stopping them before they got in to do, who knows what. The information he was privy to was coming over his radio by frantic officers trying to hold back hundreds of rioters from getting to politicians while chanting death threats and similar. I find it hard to believe that the police officers getting battered around the perimeter were telling everyone over the radio that it was a mostly peaceful protest. From their standpoint, at ground zero, it was anything other than that. There may have been 10s of thousands of peaceful people outside, but on the perimeter...it was pandemonium, rioters out of control.
Had I been in his position, I may have done the same. I don't know. But if I was charged with protecting those in that room with my life, I'd do whatever I had to do to keep that mob from breaking through the door they were banging on. There was no other exit I'm told, and there was really no way to know that they were going to break in and just smile as they took selfies. He had to prepare for the worst and make a decision. Everyone in that building was in the act of committing a crime and hellbent on committing more. Note, that that one shot stopped the threat in that section. I personally don't understand why or how many more weren't shot that day, but I'm glad it ended as quickly as it did. Did she deserve to lose her life...no more than any other person who tries to attack an officer. I believe I'd have put a couple of warning shots out there first, but I wasn't there. I guess this gives me the libtard award of the day, but ya gotta stay consistent as you can. This isn't really a lib or conservative argument anyway. If you're going to back the Blue, then you should at least back them even when it's your own people breaking laws too. And just to get back on some of y'all's good side, I think cops should have mowed down every Antifa and BLM member doing similar or worse actions...you know...to be consistent.