What we all hear when they say it was self defense

Cops never fire just once. The theory being; A) if you need to fire, it’s because you are in life threatening danger and, B) you can’t fire once and wait to see if you hit and disabled your target because you are in immediate danger or you wouldn’t be shooting. So they fire multiple times to increase their odds of hitting and disabling or killing their target. A cop just being afraid justifies all their actions in response to the source of that fear.

It’s bullshit, of course, but the courts have swallowed this argument many times. A cop thought he was in danger so he emptied his magazine at a target that scared him. If the lawyers convince the judge the cop believed he had a reason to be afraid, it doesn’t matter how much lead he slung nor who was hurt or killed by it.