Eb,
"She was in a motionless vehicle and no weapon."
Not exactly.
I watched the film frame by frame.
He was standing there most likely for the full intention of blocking her car.
The wheels had begun moving before he reached for his gun. The vehicle was the "weapon".
The speed at that moment is immaterial because a car can gain speed quickly.
At that critical moment, she allowed her car to move forward instead of staying on the brakes and turning off the engine.
At that moment the cop had no way of knowing if she would turn left or right, into him or away from him.
He was standing there for the full purpose of blocking her from moving.
She choose a decision that cost her her life.
I see his position as "defensible"...not the right thing to do or proof his life was in danger.
Simply "defensible" which will matter in court.
That's my response to you.
Respond to me if you want. Would welcome it.
She was shot through the windshield. She was moving forward with this agent in front of her vehicle. She was going slow at the time of the shot. What happens if instead of being shot she then floors it? I'm not saying this was a justified shooting. I think if likely wasn't. Having said that it was a tense situation and I don't think anyone on this site would have felt totally safe with a 4000 pound vehicle coming at you. This absolute deserves to be investigated and if the agent was deemed to have improperly discharged his pistol he needs to be prosecuted.
One other thing. I will absolutely remember this the next time a driver is surrounded by an angry mob and hits the gas to escape from a potentially dangerous situation.