I'm troubled by the incident and by the Police Chief's comments.  No one "had to" die.

From the description, the officers seem to have been perfectly safe on shore (behind metal barricades), and they could have fallen back further if necessary.  They were in no imminent danger whatsoever.  The guy was on a sailboat on a windless night -- he wasn't going anywhere quickly.

In addition, no civilians were in harm's way.  This was a guy firing randomly at the shore from a distant boat.  I'm sure it was frightening, but the odds of him actually hitting anyone sound quite remote.

The officers seem to have precipitated this shooting by putting themselves in harm's way.  They could have simply stood down and waited him out.  Instead, they charged the boat the benefit of any cover, surprise, or less-lethal options.  The fellow's death was almost a foregone conclusion at that point.

I hope the press will investigate this thoroughly and not just accept the chief's word at face value.