Have you tried pulling a knife on an armed officer in Europe? I've lived in Europe and I would not feel safe doing that.
If you google "uk police subdue knife", you can find many examples. Here's one: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/london-police-knife-wiel...
Quote from the article: "In San Francisco, the suspect died in a hail of bullets. In London, the suspect was subdued."
Different situations, different people, I'm sure they're not directly comparable. But in general people are not expected to die from police action in Europe unless they're actively shooting at police officers or hostages or something similar.