So concerning the death of Alton Stirling, it is the fact that the police officers involved didn’t follow policy and procedure, that has been deemed more serious than the fact that a man was shot and killed while being restrained.
The fact that he had a gun isn’t really signficant in a state where it is legal to buy and carry firearms.
If the officers were not following policy and procedure, then they were breaking the law, and should be subject to the law like everybody else. If we have one rule for police officers and another rule for everyone else, that will only server to widen the gap of distrust between law enforcement and the public.
Further reading: NY Times aticle