@BehindBlueI's
I disagree. You are using your state’s definition of voluntary manslaughter, which is not appropriate to my hypothetical, because there is no intent to kill. Rather, I am thinking of “classic manslaughter” as the killing of another person without intent to kill. The state where I first worked as a cop has, as one definition of manslaughter, the killing of another person after consciously disregarding a risk that the action could cause death. I was trained to consider that the core concept behind involuntary manslaughter, and it certainly can be justified by SD as an affirmative defense. The shooter did know that there was a risk the shot could kill, but fired anyway because it was in defense of others.
My use of “classic manslaughter” wasn’t optimal because the 50 states have varying definitions. Neither my small, relatively insignificant state nor yours should be held up by either of us as some kind of governing standard.
I would also remind you that investigators are not always the final arbiters of what is justifiable homicide. You might think or feel that the cop who shot the hostage taker is not criminally liable, but if the prosecutor’s office, grand jury, judge, and petit jury think differently, something else might be entered into the UCR at the end of the road.