We don't know this. From the article, we only know that the PO says he asked the guy for help.
Had the officer not requested his assistance, I would agree that he might have been considered a threat by the officer had he just jumped in, and it would be better not to.
Again, don't know the PO requested his assistance. We only know that the PO is saying that he requested his assistance.
I guess there are two types of people in a pinch. Those who run toward trouble to lend a hand, and those who run away and do not even look back.
There's two types of cops in the world; those who've been caught in their lies and those who have yet to be caught lying.
There's no indication from the article that this guy ran away and according to him, the cop never asked for help. According to him, the cop had the situation well in hand.
As for risk, if I waited for everything to be sure and safe, I would never get in my car.
And maybe the cop should've called for back-up and surveil the situation while waiting for help to arrive instead of charging in like John Wayne, eh?
Bottom line: If people do not care enough to take part in keeping crime out of their neighborhood, including helping a cop in a bind, they will have the neighborhood they deserve.
And if I were a cop, why should I get killed in a neighborhood the residents do not care about? For what? A paycheck? It is no good if you don't live to spend it.
If you want to have good police/neighborhood realtions, that is a two way street. There are a few bad cops. But if you want to broad brush all police as liars, we have nothing to discuss.
The guy had one collar for the day, why bust the other guy if he hadn't asked him for help?