I think people still veiw him as a criminal, and as Doc Ock said, Peter would have to reveal his secret identity in order to prove that Doc Ock was a hero. But he couldn't risk everything that he has. Aunt May, MJ, Harry, and more would have been in danger of getting hurt.
As for being a pwan, Doc Ock wasn't a pawn. He had to use them to get money, and not let anything stand in his way. peter convinced him to stop, and Ock listened. The tentacles tried to tell Ock to not listen to him, but Ock told his tentacles to listen to him now, which means Ock stood up to the tentacles. It doesn't mean Ock was a pawn, it just means that the tentacles convinced Ock to steal money to rebuild his fusion machine, and Ock was basically saying "no" to the tentacles when Peter convinced him.