It’s such a contrast from Europe. I had the cops called on me once in the UK (and they also don’t have a great reputation) as I drank too much and somehow got stuck in someone’s garden knocking on their window at like 3am to let me out.

Cops came, ID’d me, asked what I was doing there and helped me climb out/half pulled me out then gave me a ride home. I remember them just having a laugh at me being stupid due to being drunk. I asked them if they could cuff me cuz I wanted to know what it’s like and they said no because they didn’t want me to hurt myself by falling over or something. I also asked if we could go through the McDonald’s drive through when we went by one on the way and offered to bribe them with a happy meal but they just chuckled and told me they can’t do that unfortunately. One of them walked me up to my flat and made sure I got in safe before leaving. Granted I wasn’t arrested or anything, but it felt like a positive experience and I woke up feeling thankful for them having been there the night before.

To contrast, I’ve once been pulled over in the US with friends and even though the cop didn’t do or say anything wrong, I distinctly remember feeling like his tone and demeanor was challenging (as if he wanted us to argue with him or something). We were let go without a ticket or anything in the end, all he said when we asked why we were pulled over is that it’s a routine check. It felt like a very negative experience and from what it sounds like, it’s as good as it could have gone in the US.