Oh yes, SC, he has a soft side, and I was exaggerating my opinion of him in my post. His soft side is obviously his wife and kids. He would do anything for them IMO. But I don't think there is a time he is not ruthless with regard to his other Family--particularly in season four, in which IMO Tony starts to get even more ruthless than he already is.

The cop incident you refer to did show some kind of guilt from Tony, but that was soon wiped away when a black guy stole Meadow's bike.

And Just Lou, Tony was somewhat ruthless to Jackie Aprile and Noah, who I consider kids compared to the Mob Boss himself.

Mick