Well last year a BP Agent shot a kid in the head who was throwing rocks, and if I recall correctly was not reprimanded by the BP at the time, but perhaps this LTL policy is delayed blowback from that incident? Because it seems kind of a silly procedure to just come out of the blue.
Anyhow, if you are patrolling an area where 35,000+ have been murdered since 2006.... getting shot and killed is hardly news, it's just Tuesday. Sad but true.