The shootee is holding a cell phone, as has been discussed elsewhere. Still, could have been a cell phone gun, so the police were indeed justified.

JLBraun,

That might be a cell phone - I can't tell from the video. But I can tell that he's holding it extended straight out in both hands in a standard triangle stance and waving it around in a way that looks like a gun. As I said, the video is cruddy enough (at least on my monitor) that I can't tell if the extended portion is a shiny silver cell phone or a shiny silver barrel.

I suspect I'd of dropped him as soon as he started waving whatever it was around like that rather than giving him so much time to obey my commands to drop it.

But that's just my perspective.

Wow I wouldnt have known that was a cell phone unless you had told me. It seems obvious when you know to look for it, but the guy was holding it so it looked like a gun.

I didn't know if it was or not until I read the original police report. To clarify, I don't have sympathy for the guy, nor do I think that the police shouldn't have reacted the way they did.