This is happening a lot of late. Are police being trained to kill rather than maim in these circumstances? I mean couldnt a half reasonable shot have go at the buttocks or legs? have our police lost their nerve?

Kapow, maybe you need to think before you type. Police are trained to "shoot to kill" for one very important reason - an injured and violent person is still capable of being violently intent on causing potentially fatal harm to another person. As for shooting someone in the buttocks? Are YOU seriously going to ask a person who wants to kill you and is armed with a knife or gun, to turn around whilst you shoot them in the butt? And hey, rather than shoot someone in the legs, why not aim for their trigger finger or knife hand? Now that would be some trick! Street cops are faced with situations like the one in Armidale every single day. Fortunately not all end in a fatal shooting but when it does, you can generally be assured that the police officer fired because he had to to protect himself, his partner or someone else. There is no other reason.