The skin color is irrelevant, the fact that the man was a violent schizophrenic is the key, unless you want to continue an inaccurate narrative.

The guy had a history of stabbing his family members and was wielding an 8 inch knife while having a schizophrenic episode. The police tried to talk him down and that failed. Ultimately, if someone charges at police with a knife (or any weapon) they have a duty to preserve their own lives and can and will kill the assailant.

“Why not use a taser?” Because tasers are notoriously unreliable and require perfect placement and conditions to be effective. They cant really be fired from much distance (realistically, within stabbing distance of a charging lunatic), require both nodes to make contact with skin, often get tangled in clothing, and sometimes just arent powerful enough to do anything.

“Why 38 shots” You fire your weapon until the threat is neutralized. 3 officers firing until the threat is neutralized can add up quickly.

“Shoot him in the leg/hand/dont kill him!” Not how guns work. You shoot for center mass. It is virtually impossible to consistently hit a rapidly moving target in a small window from a distance. Center of the chest gives more margin for error, protects bystanders, and prevents ricochets. Theres also the fact that the leg and arm contain major arteries which will kill the person just as much as hitting them in the chest. So, all that extra work to aim, all the extra risk to bystanders, and the same result.

Dont go charging at anyone with a knife is the key takeaway here.