Good God, you're actually defending this murderer after he shot to death an unarmed person?
Do you have any idea what they'd do to anyone else who did this, who didn't happen to be a former agent of the government?
Good God, you're actually defending this attacker after he assaulted who he thought was an unarmed person?
Answer me this: Have you ever had any stranger throw an object into your face? What would you believe would be the purpose of such an attack? This idiot wanted a response. He was begging for a response. He hoped to punish a man in his seventies with a severe beating at the very least.
Tell me, did the attacker commit a felony or not? Was the action of taking the ex-cops popcorn by force and flinging it at him a crime?
If somebody is willing to commit such a crime before witnesses, what would convince you that the crime was going to end with just the robbery and assault? Or was the attacker going to punch the old man into unconsciousness and leave the theater? How much of a reaction from the ex-cop would have generated just such a response?