It's only because they set off the grenade did he freak out and pull a knife.
So, if I'm "attacked" by cops I have the right to pull a weapon and kill them? Fuck logic. Or was he only trying to intimidate the cops? Once again, fuck logic.
You dont intimidate nor threaten armed police and think you can walk away with it. You're only going to get severely injured or killed if you do that.
"But he was weak old man who wanted to do no harm", pls. You dont need to be a master assassin in his prime to kill someone with a knife. If the cops werent wearing full chainmail over anti-stab vest/leggings and bulletproof mask, they were very much "in danger" even if they were 5 young guys against 1 old man. Or do you think it would have been "okay" if only one of the cops got killed body slamming the dude? This isnt a war, nor the WWE, there is no acceptable loss of good guys, those assault men are supposed to protect their own life at all cost, deemed the scenario allow them to use live ammo.
I dont know if you once tried to put a man down and restrain him, but if he hasnt been neutralized before, there is a high chance you're at least going to get an elbow to the face, and at worse a knife in the ribs, even if you pile up the 5 guys on him in quick succession.
Maybe they should have waited a tiny more for peaceful compliance (he accepted to leave, but to where? I remind you, they were here to arrest him at this point, not to make him stop camping), but I dont think 10 more seconds would have done the trick if they were negotiating with him for hours and the problem was still there.
Ok, it looks bad on the paper, but you gotta be more critical and not just stop at "he had knives, they had guns, it was unfair!"
even if the guy only had a box-cutter in his hand, and was threatening people with it, and was unstoppable by anything else than lethal force, I wouldnt mind if they used a tactical nuke launched from space. Police isnt here to provide a "challenge" to dangerous persons.
Similar stuff going on in EU, it is managed differently, we are just less prone to use firearms and more to let guys flee the scene, which isnt a superior way of doing things IMO. Maybe there is a middle point to reach between US/EU modus operandi. Basically sending the most appropriate units against the proportionally equipped suspects; because its obvious that the homeless dude was fairly overwhelmed by both numbers and gear: it doesnt help when the public see this... But then, if you send police to a scene where they dont have the tools to protect themselves, they die. Sometimes its better to send the GIGN against a poor dude, than send the city police, if you dont know whats up.
Edit:
I will add that like AntiBlitz, I'm merely adding my wisdom to the thread, so dont hate the messenger too much