I'm sure if these cops would play in crpg they'd be my old friendchers
Actually a good comparison, if you're archer (gun) you should know by then that a melee (knife) can fuck your ass up if you get too close.
Your first reflex would be then: why dont they just fall back? He cant hit them with a knife from a distance (except if he's also a good thrower), just kite away then.
This is where the comparison with cRPG stops : police is called to resolve a case. They have the duty not to back off and leave the emotionaly disturbed person to wander around and potentially wound/kill himself or other persons. They have to get close and personal and take him into custody.
To this day we have invented no perfectly reliable tool to restrain someone that isnt complying from a distance, without getting dangerously close or wounding the suspect or both. There is some cool gadgets around that are definitely handy in some situations, but nothing comes close to lead.
Also, if the account of AntiBlitz and Artyem are rights (suspect has record of violence and the police confrontation was actually hours-long (video doesnt show the full background)), I believe they didnt pop the poor guy just because he was camping. Just by reading the title of the youtube video you can tell there is some proper misinformation going on, and its not only done by the police trying to cover their asses.