Police officers are paid to enforce the law, not to be beat-up or killed. And no, not all have the skill of Bruce Lee in unarmed defense or the shooting skills of Buffalo Bill Cody (just shoot the weapon out of the guy's hand or shoot him in the foot). I think people should realize police (are supposed to) respond to situations following the rules of force. It doesn't matter if the (alleged) criminal is armed or not, but on what kind of threat the suspect displays. If the suspect is responsive and cooperative, then only the amount of force necessary to complete the arrest is necessary (handcuff, frisk). But, the situation escalates when the suspect resists (fighting, running away, etc). Should a cop shoot a suspect for suspicion of jay-walking? No, of course not. But, if the same jay-walker is stopped by a police officer who has the intent to issue a verbal warning or a summons, and the jay-walker turns on the officer, yelling obscenities reaching inside a pocket or waistband for a possible weapon, most people seem to think the officer should wait and see what the suspect will pull out before the officer responds. Oh, it's just a phone, oh, it's just his wallet, oh, it's just a switchblade, oh, it's just a 9mm Glock... If the officer reacts too fast on the assumption it's dangerous and it's not, then the cop is wrong; but, if it is dangerous and the cop assumes otherwise, then there's a seriously injured/dead cop. Just as arm-chair quarterbacks the day after a big game, critics of law enforcement have the advantage of time to study the situation, the actions of the parties involved and discoveries (armed, unarmed, drugs, etc). The cop has to be right all the time or his ass is grass (physically, mentally and legally), whereas the perpetrator has the advantage of knowing what his own actions will be. Law enforcement officers are supposed to adhere to laws while performing their duties; criminals don't. Citizens are required to adhere to laws also, and when stopped by an officer, are also required to obey the instructions given to them. If they don't, red flags start waving as to why the citizen is argumentative, resisting, running... Yes, there are, unfortunately, bad cops. I am not excusing their actions. But, when the attitude of too many of the citizens focus more on the actions of the cops than that of the suspect and the cause why the cop had to be involved, somethings wrong.