Police actions

As I sat in the safety of my living room and passed judgment on the cop who shot the Black man in Atlanta, my thoughts drifted to the newscaster who said you never shoot a man who is running away. I wonder what the phrase stop or I'll shot meant. In the Atlanta case they said there was no need to shoot since they had his car and they could get him the next day. Let's suppose that is what happened. Then the police find out that the car was stolen so they have no idea who he was. After several witnesses looked at the suspect files he was identified as an escaped murderer and the next day he rob a bank. A police officer on the seen watched the suspect killed a bank guard and escape. He gave chase and yelled stop or I'll shoot but the robber kept on running and was faster than the officer so he got away. When the officer was asked why he did not shoot he responded saying he didn't think it appropriate to shoot a man who was running away. The point is there are all sorts of scenarios that could surround any police action and often times these only become clear after the fact.