The perp was reaching for his weapon as he ran. Do you think it difficult to fire back, at near point blank range, at a pursuing cop? And, of course, it turned out that the perp did in fact have a gun. I certainly don't want our cops needlessly risking their lives in these types of situations just so that they can avoid the hysterical criticism of activists and dopey white liberals.
The only people who f-ed up here were the perps and their mothers.