From what little information we have so far, he was a good guy, with a minor criminal history who sought to improve his life, ultimately resulting in working the same job for over a decade. That last point is more than can be said about a lot of us here on HN, let's be frank about that. Other than my own business, I haven't held a job longer than a few years. It shows a commitment to his community and the kids he literally and figuratively served while on the job.

He tried to do what he knew was the right thing to do. Sadly, it wasn't exactly the right thing in the eyes of the officer involved. Therein will lie the crux of this matter: what led this officer to believe that shooting the man was the correct response? Where did the system fail? Was it at the precinct leadership level? The academy level? Societal or socioeconomic? Because there was a pair of failures here: something or someone failed to prepare the officer for how to handle this situation, and more heart-breaking, something or someone failed to keep the man alive.

People should intervene more often in these situations.