I finally sat down yesterday and watched the Bryant shooting video a few times.

Based on the footage and reports, I don't see what else the officer who fired the shots could have done.

In the video, you can see that Bryant appears to be in the process of stabbing the black girl wearing pink. If he had not fired, that black girl could have very easily lost her life, and we would be condemning him for not stopping this from happening.

It sounds like Bryant may have been the one to make the call and it is possible that she was not the original aggressor. However, at the point that the footage begins, she has become the aggressor.

This is not an example of racially-motivated police brutality, and I won't be pretending this is the case. Moreover, I won't be engaging in the usual mockery and finger-wagging that is typical among some right-wing commentators.

This is still a tragedy.