I completely agree with your statement. If one is attacked, crowded public place or not, they may decide to defend themselves, with deadly force if necessary. Of course, then one needs to
be ready to face the consequences of their decision.
The second part is what does not sit so well with me. Are consequences different for Joe Public versus Officer Joe? A random Google search shows me that perpetrators are usually arrested. In this case, the perpetrator was armed and the three victims were not.
Could the perps in the news articles below be acting in self defense? Maybe, maybe not. Who's to say the Perp in the Costco shooting did not have an ax to grind with the victims? But he was let off after being treated for minor injuries.
All news reports, witness statement (NYT), police statements and even the policeman's lawyer's statement does not say anything about the perp identifying himself as a police officer.
If I was Mr. Sanchez instead of Officer Sanchez on that fateful day last month, would I have been treated differently?
Article 1 : July 07, 2019
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-st...fter-early-morning-fatal-shooting-in-oklahoma
STILLWATER, OKLA. (AP) — Police in Stillwater say an early-morning fatal shooting has led to the arrest of a 29-year-old suspect.
Article 2: May 13, 2019
Oakland teen arrested after six people shot at central California beach
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP/KTVU) - Authorities arrested a 19-year-old Oakland man in connection with a shooting that injured six people at the Oceano Dunes Natural Preserve on California's central coast, which witnesses said began over a domestic dispute.
Article 3: April 3, 2019
Texas Prosecutor Drops All Charges In 2015 Biker Shootout That Killed 9
In a 2015 shootout in the parking lot of a Waco, Texas, restaurant, nine people were killed and 20 were injured. After the gunfight, police arrested 177 bikers, and a grand jury indicted 155 of them on charges of organized crime.