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- The husband of the woman shot to death by Jersey City police two nights ago says “they didn’t have to kill her.” Police and city officials say they tried to subdue woman, who reportedly has a history of mental illness, by “non-lethal means” but they were left with no choice after she cut two of the officers with the knife she was wielding. Meanwhile, a JCPD spokesperson tells the Journal about the process for officers involved in traumatic incidents like this and last week’s shootout. And at a press conference yesterday, Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson, a police department veteran, defended police actions in the wake of last week’s brutal confrontation. “How do you tell someone to calm down when you run the risk of being blown away any moment?” she said. We don’t really know the answer to that question. But then again, it’s not our job. Police officers should have the training and the nerves to be able to respond to a potentially deadly situation without making it realize its potential. As Hudson County prosecutor Edward DeFazio points out, “when police are confronted with deadly force then the police are entitlted to the use of deadly force in return.” What is not yet clear is if a 5 foot 2 inch woman brandishing a knife, struggling by herself against seven officers, meets the proper definition of “deadly force.”

- In other JCPD news, about 20 religious leaders held a press conference yesterday to show their support for the department in the wake of last week’s shootout, and a blood drive held in slain officer Marc DiNardo’s honor yesterday was a rousing success. There is a public viewing for DiNardo today at a funeral home near Journal Square. Meanwhile, the last officer still hospitalized from the shootout has had his condition upgraded and is “in good spirits.” And the Times takes a look at the trip the female suspect took from being a “quiet and sweet” girl to becoming a suspect in a Jersey City shooting and ultimately dying at the side of her boyfriend.

- The All Points West Festival has tapped Jay-Z to replace the Beastie Boys as the Friday headliner.

In statewide news:

- The national nonprofit Families USA has released a study that says about 664,000 people in New Jersey could gain insurance under the plan by 2013 if President Obama’s proposed health care reform bill is passed.

- Governments’ health care costs for public workers covered through New Jersey’s health plan will rise between 11 percent and 23 percent next year, under premium increases approved Wednesday by the State Health Benefits Commission.

- The state Commission on Civil Rights has approved the nomination of Chinh Q. Le, a former assistant counsel for the NAACP, as state Civil Rights director, despite criticism from two senators and some GLBT rights activists.

- New rules adopted this week will give the public more access to state court records.