American police can generally get away with killing someone, whether it was a reckless mistake or an act of sadism. Few expect the NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, who fatally strangled suspected loose-cigarette vendor Eric Garner, to get convicted of felony charges by a Staten Island jury; or for officer Darren Wilson to be convicted of felony charges for shooting unarmed teenager Michael Brown to death in Ferguson.

Even if a law enforcement officer is convicted, the penalty tends to be light — for instance, Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle’s two-year sentence for shooting Oscar Grant execution-style on New Year’s Day, 2009.

But heaven help the civilian who even unintentionally harms a cop.