First of all, for those people that think 5 shots were "excessive", an officer is trained to shoot to "stop the action".  They don't "shoot to injure" or "shoot to kill".  There are cases where someone can be shot multiple times and still pose a threat.

 

Second.  One of the most important things for a police officer to know for his protection is where a person's hands are.  It doesn't matter if it's a traffic stop, an investigation of a burglary or when struggling while trying to subdue a large suspect.  The location of a person's hands is what is important.  If it's known that there is a deadly weapon within reach of a struggling suspect, and his hand is moving towards that weapon then it justifies the officer to escalate the use of force up to and including deadly force.  It doesn't matter if it's a firearm or a knife.

 

Third.  At close range a knife is almost more deadly of a threat to an officer than a gun.  Kevlar will stop a bullet but it won't stop a knife blade.

 

Fourth.  Cops don't want to shoot people.

 

Finally, the race thing is way off base.

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