The Underexamined Factor in Too Many Police Shootings

Last last week, the Vallejo, Calif., police department released several minutes of body-cam footage showing the controversial police shooting of a young black man named Willie McCoy. McCoy had apparently fallen asleep in the drive-thru line at a Taco Bell with a gun in his lap. Police were called when he didn’t respond to horn honks or taps on his windows. A few minutes later, he was dead.

After watching the video, I believe McCoy’s death was likely the moment the cops arrived and saw his gun, and it became...