To me, it’s not really about innocence, or value of life, but something more like consent and agency. A cop, like a soldier, signs up for a job that they know is mortally risky. So it’s not that an innocent cop’s life is worth less than an innocent civilian’s life, but that a cop’s life is willingly offered for (what is supposed to be) the greater good.
The idea that protecting the innocent is more important than punishing the guilty is the basis of the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard of evidence used in criminal trial, and in an ideal world, we would be able to hold cops to the same standard. If they had any doubt that pulling the trigger was the right thing to do, they would not. Unfortunately, in these situations there’s really no time for deliberation.
The idea that protecting the innocent is more important than punishing the guilty is the basis of the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard of evidence used in criminal trial, and in an ideal world, we would be able to hold cops to the same standard. If they had any doubt that pulling the trigger was the right thing to do, they would not. Unfortunately, in these situations there’s really no time for deliberation.