In some cases, absolutely. In other cases, hesitation can cost a life.
I'm a felon, you don't have to convince me that law enforcement isn't your friend. I've personally seen police, judges, prosecutors, and attorneys, lie under oath. I always compare the legal system to a rooster; both of them will happily fu*k anybody they see.
I have some experience with cops.
When I was in my early 20's ( a long time ago in a galaxy far away), I had already owned my own home.. a condo. I was single and making very good money as the vice pres of a 200 employee company. I lived in an upscale area of subdivisions at the start of the McMansion movement.
Met a girl at a gas station.. I was a pickup god back then. She was a psychopath, but smoking hot and a goddess in the sack so I kept her around. (I said I was 20 something right? LOL) I wasn't so wise back then.
Anyhow, after two months of dating, one week I got sick.. 104 fever and an ear infection causing me to be dizzy. I could barely stand up for 5 days so hadn't called her and was ignoring my phone. (still had the corded phone back then).
So she comes to my house and starts screaming at me while I'm sitting in my lazyboy chair dizzy and about to puke. I was too sick to care.. which drove her crazy and she threw something at me, hit the brass lamp, knocked it into the wall, and put a big gash in it. She then walked back out to her car so I mustered the strength to get up and lock the door behind her. This threw her into a rage.. screaming and kicking the door.
She calls the cops because she wanted back in to collect a paper bag of clothes. Cops knock on my door, she's on the sidewalk crying and hysterical.
I answered the door by opening a small window in the side bedroom. Told cops she could come back next day when she's calmed. Cops insisted I let them in.. I denied their request and again said she could come back the next day when she's calm. Cops kept insisting.. I finally broke and said "Look buddy, unless you have a warrant or you want to break the door down, you're not coming in here, I'm sick, I have a 104 degree fever, and I don't want anyone in here right now"
Their reply was to reach into the window, grab my shirt, and drag me out, cuff me, and take me to jail. Had I not been dizzy or sick, that would have never worked..
The cops claimed I resisted arrest, struck them, struck her, and they arrested me for a bunch of made up charges that were totally bogus. Among them were assault and battery, domestic violence, assaulting a police officer, resisting, threats, disorderly conduct, etc.
I was fortunate for two reasons.. 1) I made good money which afforded me some toys and privileges 2) That good income allowed me to purchase a Sony CCTV camera that I kept hooked to a VCR recorder at all times (the old coax type). Back then, those cameras were $400. It was mounted in the bedroom (office) looking out the front bay window at my vehicle and motorcycle... and it recorded the entire event.
The judge watched the tape and threw out all charges.. as well as expressed some choice words for the two police officers involved. I then sued the cops and won a substantial settlement. NOTE: The girl never claimed I hit her, touched her, or threatened her in any way. She just wanted her paper grocery bag of clothes and thought the cops could help her with that.
There are no good cops.. when a good cop joins the force, the bad cops push them out or to a desk job. I'm a white guy, clean cut, short hair, no tattoos, no ear rings, educated, well spoken, and relatively very polite to any stranger I meet, cop, bum, or waitress.. doesn't matter..
If cops will treat me that way, I can only imagine how they'd treat a black guy....