I assume from the shooter's perspective the cop wants to search a him, and he knows he has an illegal firearm on him. Depending on the state and his status as a repeat offender, he could be facing life in prison for that. So, suddenly murdering the person who is going to put you in jail for the rest of your life seems like a zero sum game to a sociopath.
> So, suddenly murdering the person who is going to put you in jail for the rest of your life seems like a zero sum game to a sociopath.
"you win and I go to jail forever / I win and you die" actually literally is a zero-sum a game. People fight/support wars over even completely unrealistic fears that they might one day lose even a bit of their freedom.
Maybe you mean that deciding not to voluntarily lose that zero-sum game makes someone a sociopath. And, tbh, in that situation, I would rather surrender than kill (for a lot of reasons, both moral and practical). However, I also wouldn't call someone a sociopath for deciding to kill in order to avoid a life sentence. "Live Free or Die" is literally the motto of the state of New Hampshire.
If I were about to arrest someone who knew they were going to jail for life, I would go into that situation expecting a life-and-death struggle. Even if that person were a completely balanced and mentally healthy person. Anything less seems a bit naive.
