Thanks for posting, Simon. Hmm, I don't remember deleting the posts -- I very seldom do that unless it's blatant trolling, smut or spam -- maybe it was Webmaster Steve or, as you suggest, maybe the problem was uproar from other fans. Anyway, your reflections about it are admirable.
As for myself, in hindsight I certainly misread the situation -- I very much wanted to believe that Peter was simply out shopping in his most comfortable "art studio clothes" (more disheveled than usual, suit pants with busted zipper, etc) when he was harassed and perhaps frightened by an onslaught of paparazzi, and briefly lost his temper. Unfortunately that was wishful thinking, as we later came to learn.
I still get emails from a pleasant but intense fan who says she is an angel (or psychically connected with an angel), and that the spirit of Peter Falk, in heaven, very much wants us to do everything possible to remove those photos of Peter yelling on the streets of Beverly Hills, from the internet. So I guess the whole event was traumatizing for a lot of people.