Some people in such situations act without consulting with authorities consequences be damed. And your right that the intended victim and perp were far safer as a result of his actions. One acquires the mind set to assist in the course of growing from one’s parents, church, and good teachers. Absent their influence it’s a “Lord of the Flies” comes of age dog eat dog kind of world.
I wasn’t happy when we lost our small local police force. They were a pretty big expense and mostly they sat on a main road and wrote tickets. On the flipside they were local and knew everyone which meant they could go into a tense situation and talk to a perp like a friend and defuse tension.
My biggest concern with losing them was out of town county cops treating all situations the same. Fortunately, a county car rolls though town only once or twice a week. Again, its a result of the behavior of the people in the community. We don’t need heavy police protection because we have a minimal crime rate and people work things out among themselves.
I still worry about the domestic dispute cases with the out of town cops.