Are you guys really just hearing about this now? This has been in the news prominently since about 5 minutes after the shooting.

Part of the problem is that the guy was a coward. There's not much you can do about that. I mean, there are probably psych tests that cops have to take and from that they can figure out who's a pussy and who's a stud. Then give the pussies the really easy low risk jobs.....like guarding a school where nothing happens 99.9999999% of the time.

Another part of the problem is training. It's not clear how well trained this officer was to deal with this particular situation. That is surprising and sad. One of the beneficial side-effects of school shootings, is that law enforcement has been able to develop advanced techniques for this exact situation. Now there is widespread literature on effective methods to confront shooters. If that training was not implemented, then this coward cop deserves decidedly less than full blame.

Even if the training was implemented at some point, it's clear that it was not well reinforced. One of the details that's swirled around this story is the lack of drills, practice, and refreshed training. There's a reason we put soldiers through hell all day every day even in peace time. It's so that when the war starts....they'll be able to call upon their training, and suppress instincts of fear and doubt. In crisis, your mind goes to what's rehearsed, familiar, and comfortable.