I seem to remember it happening somewhere and that was the exact reaction.
I'm very critical of the modern "shoot first" cop culture, both on NES and in real life, but I'm pragmatic enough to admit that pointing anything at a cop is likely to get you shot, and rightly so. I don't expect police officers to wait all that long to shoot if they're justifiably in fear for their lives, and I know enough about perception (and cerakote!) to not blame them too much if whatever's being pointed at them is even slightly gun-like. Even if it's bright orange.