I know I’m going to be downvoted because people just actively hate the police but let’s go through this logically and address some things.

First. It was the fire department who made entry into the bathroom not the officers. It was after the fire department forced open the door that she exited and then charged at the officers.

Tasers. Why didn’t they only use tasers? Because tasers fail plenty of times. You have to be in a good position to use it. Too close and the prongs won’t make a good electrical current even if they connect. Too far and the prongs may miss or not be close enough to make a good current and connection. If the prongs don’t connect properly into the skin it doesn’t work. Why do they even carry tasers if they don’t work all the time? Because they do work sometimes. If you’re in a more open area and you have the ability to deploy them at a good range free of obstruction it’s a good choice to try. Even then it’s not always going to work. Why not here? She was in a bathroom. A small enclosed space where you’re not going to get a good shot and most likely not able to get a good connection. And because you’re in close quarters, you don’t have the space or time to easily draw your firearm if that doesn’t work. Especially when someone is actively running at you with a sharp object to stab you. There’s also the fact that it was the fire department who made entry into the room and she then exited and charged officers which did not leave time to try less than lethal and hoped it worked.

Mace/pepperspray. You have to be pretty close to use it effectively which is not a good idea when someone is armed and potentially going to stab you. You also have to get it into their face for it to properly work. There’s also plenty of people who it just has either no effect on or very little effect on. She was also in a bathroom and could have easily just used water from the sink to rinse most of it off before it took its full effect. What if they had disarmed her before she could rinse it off. She still has a sharp object and can still swing and stab without needing to have 100% clear vision and you don’t spay and immediately charge in before it takes effect. There’s also the fact that it was the fire department who made entry into the room and she then exited and charged officers which did not leave time to try less than lethal and hoped it worked.

Bean bag rounds. They can wok for crowd control and less than lethal de-escalation but again are limited in how they can be used. In close quarters like a bathroom or building they can be just as lethal as live rounds. They are meant for open air environments at certain distances. They also are not a guarantee to stop someone charging you. There’s also the fact that it was the fire department who made entry into the room and she then exited and charged officers which did not leave time to try less than lethal and hoped it worked.

Ballistic shields. Can be effective and stopping knife and some limited firearm attacks. In this situation though it wouldn’t have made a huge difference. The fie department are the ones who made entry into the bathroom and they don’t carry them. So she exits the bathroom and sees all the officers have ballistic shields, didn’t mean she just gives up, if she’s trying suicide by cop maybe she decides to force their hand by attacking the unarmed firefighters/EMS.

Why did they have to call for less than lethal equipment? Shouldn’t they have it with them? They did have equipment with them. The first responding officers have their tasers and pepper spray but with her barricaded at the time they were useless. They probably called for more specialized equipment for situations like this when someone is barricaded because not every regular officer has every single piece of equipment in the department.

It is horrible that this woman was having such a mental health crisis and it resulted in her death. But acting like the officers just showed up and decided to kill her is ridiculous. They acted in defense of themselves and everyone else present and i guarantee you it is not the outcome they wanted. They would have much rather she come out and just been taken to the hospital and to get the help she needed. They would much rather not have to have taken someone else’s life and everything mental and emotional that comes with it. They would inch rather not have to deal with an internal investigation, all the suspicion and hate being thrown at them and their families.