If Stanley had claimed he was acting in self defense, and had his guns for that purpose, and had a real jury he would have been convicted of murder.
He shot a man in the back of the head, FFS. A man who posed no threat to him at all.
It is telling that this whole line about farmers arming themselves, and municipalities wanting to give them that right is so fucked up that even our Sask Party justice minister felt the need to pay attention and say something.
And why a cop is smart enough to not go all Charles Bronson on a home invader? Maybe for the same reason most doctors are smart enough to not operate on themselves. Because they realize there is a good chance they might wind up in over their heads.