Step, if you are in Southern OH then you have what seems to be a unique situation, in my opinion. Having lived there for years, I have NO idea how the cops don't just leave. The way a shooting is handled there is far different than it is in most areas. Less lethal methods like stun guns, pepper spray and bean bag guns, etc... are always a nice idea, but the media there seems to think that since those things exist a cop should try ALL of them before thinking of shooting. Given the problems in the area, which I am sure are NOT made better since we moved away, I find this a crazy expectation. I can, to some degree, see why the general public thinks you should try other things first, but honestly, if someone is holding a weapon and doesn't stop when told to, a person would be nuts or stupid to NOT shoot, in my opinion. I would hope that cops are not stupid because that doesn't bode well for the safety of the rest of us.
I CAN see how, given media reaction and the pressure the police dept feels from the media and the public uproar the media delights in creating, you would think they were trained to wound. It just isn't a realistic expectation, not any more than having one of our difficult children suddenly be "all better" and no longer have any problems.
in my opinion before ANY journalist can write something saying that law enforcement should shoot to wound someone, they need to go to a practice range and see exactly how hard it is to shoot a gun and hit center mass on a target. I have a feeling we would see a LOT fewer media reports about how LE should shoot to wound. Esp if the journalist can then think of trying to hit that target while the target is moving and trying to shoot back.
But the area Step lives in has had some really strange media reports about shootings and it HAS changed the way LE does their job - and made it FAR more dangerous for the officers.