How did policemen come to shoot people?
Here is a link.
the police claimed they were shot at.
Well, that is certainly a reason to shoot back at someone.
And New Orleans was pretty much roiling in anarchy. So, the cops had to decide whether to stop the flow of riot into their jurisdiction or let it flow in and destroy their community. They stopped it, Eddie Jordan thought they shouldn’t have, etc., etc, and so on. Cops get pc jammed up as usual when it comes to making the tough decision.
New Orleans cops have never been noted for strict adherence to rules and regulations; the law is pretty much situational. Or that’s the way it was back in the good old days; I can’t speak for the present. But a police force that commandeers Cadillacs for use as patrol cars does show a certain amount of initiative. Or something.