It is true that Perry March was named as a suspect in this case in search warrant documentation in mid-September of 1996, but to assume or presume that a police officer was with Perry March every second of the day in August and September of 1996 would not be correct.
Nobody saw anyone being handcuffed. Officer Gant was moving into a position of cover. He was coming around a planter with a tree in it. His view was partially obstructed when the shot was fired. Sgt. Reed was in the arrest process.
Officers are permitted to use deadly force when their lives are in danger or citizens' lives are in imminent danger. Officer Davidson believed he was in imminent danger.
The officers felt an absolute necessity, given his employment, given the fact that he could potentially back to TSU, that this needed to be investigated fully.