One thing that is clear is that policy in one place doesn't always work in another. I find it remarkable that police in England don't need to carry firearms to be effective at their job. That wouldn't work in Detriot.

When it comes to armed robbery, it's very hard to know the intent of the criminal. They might just want to get out with some cash or they might be completely psycho and just start killing people. In any case, the moment they threatened innocent people with a gun is the moment they signed their own death warrants. The sentiment of many Americans, myself included, is that it's better to just kill the armed robber then and there before it escalates to the possibility that they might try to kill other people. The laws of this country specifically state that lethal force can be used as a defense against someone in the act of killing or showing the intent to kill or seriously injure someone. So legally, once they draw a gun in the act of robbery, it's typically legal to use deadly force against them.

Laws aside, the moral issue is about whether or not you could have saved a life depending on whether or not you pull the trigger. In nearly every case, it's impossible to know. There is no way to know if the armed robber's gun is loaded. There is no way to know what's going on in their head, other than they have made an open threat to kill. As someone trying to defend themselves, it's often a split second decision between life and death. It's very easy to analyze it all afterwards and make guesses how it could have played-out. But none of us were actually there to see how it went down. I'd rather put my trust that the person defending themselves made their decision with some intelligence as to what was happening at the time. Intelligence such as what's happening at that particular moment as well as the dynamics of the neighborhood that they live in. They chose to shoot. The police seem to support that decision. Even German police, if they witnessed it all, might have made the same decision. It's all a lot of speculation. Personally, I just respect the defenders right to do what he did in those circumstances. I also have no pity for armed robbers. I think they should be shot dead on sight whenever possible. If they are so willing to kill someone else for money, then they have forfeited the value of their own lives as well.