It's mentioned before in other ways, but it boils down to this:
Grapple is intent based at the moment. There is no way to tell intent. Newer/inexperienced players will probably think they've found an amazing "loophole" without thinking of it as an exploit. Personally, I can't think of any solution to gauge the intent of the PC grappling a ganger. If they're not a ganger, they could be a medic, friend, or otherwise.
I don't think freely grappling NPCs is a "counter" to anything, if GMs aren't being notified about the intent to grab one beforehand. If players are caught using this, they're generally told to stop, then it's escalated from there if they continue. I think this policy is the best, with the current system, as it resembles many other learned "rules" of the game that aren't clearly spelled out otherwise... for the time being.
If there was another command to 'rescue' someone, versus grappling and putting them in a chokehold, then we'd have a clear definition/distinction of intent. But right now, grappling someone can mean either life or death for the grappled.