At least in the old days, they didn't shoot you dead and ask questions later. I have a relative who was a cop back then in the 1970s (and still is). He used to tell us many a story. One that stuck with me is out they responded to a report they got over the radio by doing a stop, yanking the guy out of the car and beating him up. Then they heard a followup on the radio that the perp got caught nearby. Yup, they beat the wrong guy. And got away with it somehow, swept under the rug. This was when my relative was a rookie, he mellowed out soon after.
In the early 70’s some kids I knew from school were riding mini-bikes in an empty lot in an industrial park near my parent’s house. A local police officer came by and said they couldn’t do that, put the mini-bike in the trunk of the squad car (a Plymouth) and drove off. The kid’s dad went by the station to get the bike. “What bike?” asked the police.
A nearby ranch allows the Sheriff’s department to shoot there. You can always tell when they are there, not by the shooting but by the speeding cars and clouds of dust as they come and go. Do as I say not as I do.
Odd what that does for your respect for authority especially when they haven’t any.
Despite that, I was sitting in a Taco Bell watching a police officer stop a vehicle. The drivers was obviously wanted for something. As the officer tried to cuff him he took a swing at the cop. The cop struck him in the head several times with what looked like a sap with no affect. The guy ran off with the cop in pursuit. I ran out and tackled the guy for the cop as he came by. I thought I would be in trouble, but he and the other officers were appreciative. Surprisingly some of these guys don’t fight well.