It is often said there are two sides to every story. What makes this statement true is not the incident itself, but how the story is told. The art of telling a story so that it reflects a more positive or negative light upon a situation is commonly referred to as "Spin-Doctoring", and we see it every day.
It is the job of the media to report the news fairly and consistently in regard to the facts. In a perfect world "Spin-Doctoring" would be a tool for the masses, but not for the news. This is not a perfect world.
The media is the driving force behind the court of public opinion, and a police officer involved in a shooting is always headlining news. If the reporter covering the story has a positive view of the police, they might make you a hero. If you issued a traffic citation or arrested their nephew two weeks prior, you could be portrayed as a villain. This uncertainty is often more frightening to a police officer then the actual incident.
I present to you proof of the power of "Spin-Doctoring". Two news stories covering the exact same incident. As police officers we know to take every story "with a grain of salt", but try to watch these news clips from the point of view as the average citizen. The sad truth is depending on which news station they were watching that night will most likely determine their opinion on whether the officers were right or wrong, a hero or a villain. One story with two very different point of views.
"Officer kills man allegedly holding woman with knife"
Channel 11 WHAS 12-12-2004
Woman Says Man 'Would Have Killed Me'
Channel 32 WLKY 12-12-2004