I'm not defending what happened (as we don't know fully all the details about time between actions taken by the parties involved), but it sounds to me like they had a split second to react to what they perceived to be a deadly threat to them. They were called to a scene where they believed someone had a small handgun; when they arrived, the man used a two handed hold on the object and pointed it at one of the officers, at which time the officers fired at him. I'm sorry, but common sense tells me that you don't touch a red hot piece of iron, punch a wild grizzly in the face, or point anything that could be perceived as a weapon at someone that has a real weapon aka a police officer. As far as not telling the man to "drop the weapon", etc - they apparently didn't think they had time to do so as they perceived they had an immediate threat to an officer's life. I don't personally believe that a police officer should have to be shot at before they can fire at someone - again, COMMON F***ING SENSE tells you not to point anything at an officer that they could perceive as a threat to their life or the life of someone else! If he was so innocent, why wouldn't he have put the object down and told the police "I only have a spray nozzle for a hose"? There are just some things in life you don't joke about!!!

"As the subject was in a seated position, he used a two-handed pistol-grip hold on an object with his arms fully extended," Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell said. "Somebody that is impaired and waving what appears to witnesses and police to be a handgun. That's what the officers were faced with."