Easier said then done in that area.If visual contact was established the officers could easily have seen that he was not an "active shooter".
Last time I was there for a visit, I walked right up on a crime in progress, I was armed with an ice cream cone. My unarmed relatives whose house was being robbed (bike off front porch) were useless to me. Same time of day as this shooting, plenty of sun. Unless you are in the middle of the street or alley, you don't see anyone coming, going or hiding. This is not some typical Indiana Hood or town.
Long Beach is very, very cramped, with all space being used for housing. There was only way to approach that guy and he saw them coming. Cops are forced to walk into those situations.
If you make the choice to be a drunk in public with a hose nozzle, you live or die with the end result. Long Beach is a LOT safer now, then in my youth.