They were not different. They were 2 people standing up for their beliefs, you labeled them differently in what can only be called a 180 based on the characters in the story.The world isn't black and white so of course these circumstances were different. Just because you want these 2 situations to be the same thing doesn't mean they are.
Also, did Mr. Brown do nothing wrong? If you happened to have a gun, which you most likely do not being in NYC, would you let someone take it from you not knowing if they were going to kill you with it or not?
Also, I won't be discussing anything else on this thread.