At a news conference Thursday, D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III acknowledged it was against department policy to shoot into a moving car, as was the case in Wednesday’s shooting. He also said the gun was found in Mr. Gilmore’s waistband where it had first been seen. The obvious questions: Why did the officer fire his gun? Weren’t there other ways to deal with this situation? The department says its policies regarding use of force adhere to principles of de-escalation, proportionality and reasonableness.

“Sitting here trying to figure out how law enforcement can successfully de-escalate a white domestic terrorist in a truck threatening to blow up the Capitol with a bomb but not a Black man who fell asleep in his car?” That was the tweet from D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) making a comparison with the arrest earlier this month of a man who made violent bomb threats for hours at the Library of Congress. It’s a good question and one that deserves a prompt answer.