I came over this interesting police footage from the UK. A man has stabbed another in the abdomen. When the police arrived, he came out with a crossbow and the officers were forced to run away. One of them was shot. After that an officer with a police dog arrived and tried approaching, but when they were shot at as well, they also retreated. The officers cleared civilians from the area and waited for armed police. Eventually an armed officer with a shield and an AR approached the perp and after issuing some commands shot him.
This is the video I saw first:
Bodycam: British Officer Shot With Crossbow Before Armed Police Shoot Suspect.
This is a story video with a bit more bodycam footage:
Full story - Man who shot police officer after stabbing a member of the public jailed
And here is their story in full:
Man who shot police officer after stabbing a member of the public jailed – High Wycombe
I understand why the UK doesn't want their regular officers armed, and it seems to work for them most of the time, but when things get rough, they suddenly don't have any options. In my opinion, It's not a choice between trigger-happy cops and unarmed cops. They could still have armed officers who are very reluctant to use their weapons. Most of Europe manages to make that work.
One last detail that jumped at me: When they approached the suspect, one officer said to the other: "Grab the first aid kit from my van". You should have on your person everything you need to treat one man with a single bullet wound.