Huey,
You come upon a situation where one cop is engaged in gunfire with a criminal. There is another individual with a weapon, could be a cop, could be a criminal. You draw a weapon, point it at the other individual, and then shoot if that individual aims his weapon at you. 50-50 you just shot a policeman; if that was a policeman you shot, the other policeman almost certainly shoots you, because his assumption would be that you are a criminal. There is also a chance that the known policeman shoots you when you come up on him with a weapon drawn.
So yes, I would delay with bringing my weapon out until knowing whether or not the second individual is a policeman.
You come upon a situation where one cop is engaged in gunfire with a criminal. There is another individual with a weapon, could be a cop, could be a criminal. You draw a weapon, point it at the other individual, and then shoot if that individual aims his weapon at you. 50-50 you just shot a policeman; if that was a policeman you shot, the other policeman almost certainly shoots you, because his assumption would be that you are a criminal. There is also a chance that the known policeman shoots you when you come up on him with a weapon drawn.
So yes, I would delay with bringing my weapon out until knowing whether or not the second individual is a policeman.