That cop was a county cop. Generally it is policy that county cops stand down in city affairs until city cops invite them. There is too much blame against these county cops who simply followed policy and waited outside for city cops to call them in to help. The city cops who were to proud to call the county cops in are the ones to blame.
The 'county cop' (aka, Sheriff) is an elected office in the U.S. In a city, the police chief is appointed. I'm not sure it works this way in all cases, but that's how it is here in my area. Any cop can and should protect lives which are in eminent danger. In fact anyone should whether they are a cop or not. It's a matter of citizenship, and it is possible (but rare) for a private citizen to get in legal trouble for not doing so.
The 'powers that be' are not especially fond of situations where citizens directly elect officials. Normally it's not a problem to have a corrupt slimeball (like Sheriff Israel) 'win' in our current democracy, but it's an extra hassle and not a sure thing. Look for efforts to degrade and get rid of 'legacy' offices such as county sheriff, local elected school boards, etc, and replace them with appointed positions, bureaucrats, or 'soviets' composed of hand picked 'citizens'. The various 'committees' which decide what a person can build on their own property are good examples.