Depends which criminal and which cop. I don’t consider selling loose cigarettes a real crime, more of a minor infraction on the level of speeding or jaywalking.
Any cop who arrests someone for this sort of thing is a blithering idiot who every taxpayer should hate. We’re talking about maybe a $10 loss of revenue for the state vs $150 per night to keep him in jail until he sees a judge in a few days.
As far as cops vs criminals: really depends which cop and which criminal. A cop might be worth more to society than Charles Manson. But likely worth less than (say) a jaywalking doctor, even if the doctor is resisting arrest.
Enforcement SHOULD be discretionary and as minimal as possible unless someone is actually being harmed. It’s not only a question of over-militarization. It’s an issue of zero tolerance equaling zero brain.
