I have NUMEROUS law enforcement people in my family including a son, brother, grandson and many nieces and nephews. NONE of them deserves to be shot and in particular for doing their job. Shooting a “cop” for wearing his uniform, even if you know him/her or not, to me is a “HATE CRIME”. You do that and I will hunt you down and end your days and YES, that would be considered a hate crime.
Maybe they should get bodyguards too?
Although I agree with you in principle, and I hope and pray that NO cop is targeted just for being a cop, and that in practice that would be a "hate crime" (targeting someone for what they are, not who they are), the systemic damage of setting in law that any citizen is somehow better than the rest of us is in the longer run lethal to a democracy.
P.S. tracking down the miscreant and 'ending his days' wouldn't be a hate crime in my book.