It was done after three men were shot in Queens a year ago in a hail of 50 police bullets. It occurred again on Monday, after five officers fired 20 shots at Khiel Coppin outside his Brooklyn home, killing him.

A man is down, on the ground, bleeding, and the police are handcuffing him.

Relatives, friends, neighbors and curious onlookers often see one thing: a wounded man, who is already incapacitated, being further restrained.

While the deadly force itself is always Topic A, the handcuffing that follows can become a flash point for angry outbursts, seen as one final indignity. It may sound backward: The cuffs go on after the shooting.

Others may see it as a kind of street justice, an extension of the authority that comes with a badge, though most officers would argue with such reasoning.