yup - all LEOs train to put rounds in COM. this whole business of shooting people in the leg is goofy as even though you're not feeding the gun with jacketed rounds, the lead might still bounce into a civvy. The ONLY time I've seen variations to this rule is from some PMCs I used to train with and they'll shoot at the pelvis to decrease mobility. Mozambique drills (two to the chest and one to the head) was designed to combat assailants wearing body armour but both these options are reserved for nastier places than urban streets.
Anyone who's shot a handgun here can attest to how stable you gotta be to put holes in the 10 ring. Imagine lizard brain/gross motor function kicking in when things go loud and you've been engaged...the ONLY two things you're thinking of is "get off the X/find ballistic cover" and "drop the bad guy". Weapon transitions are taught for a reason...long gun to side arm (sometimes then to blade) for Mil guys.
For LEOs; once OC or taser fails to stop the dude, the only option left is the gat. I'm not saying what the cop did was right or wrong but muscle memory/training only gives these guys so many options. The cop could've just let him run/chased him down OR shoot him. None of us were there so who really knows if the call was the right one.
