I give the police due respect, but I have no reason to fear them and would (actually have) give them short shrift in the event of unnecessary pomposity.
In the favour of the police I have to say that, of the very few times I have had any dealings with them, they have been courteous and friendly and an odd, stroppy one a very rare thing.
The only one I can recall is when I rewired my old Standard 9 so as to leave only the offside front and rear obligatory lights on when parked.
The Leicestershire chief constable had announced in the press that, providing done sensibly, he would allow parking lights to be used in the county.
Thinking my idea better than a single central lamp clipped onto the side window, I parked outside my bro'-in-laws house. Along came village plod. At the door he asked very officially, "whose was the car EKC346?" I went to the door and explained that these were my parking lights - all lights being on when moving, and offered to demonstrate. Instead he went straight into, "I don't allow parking lights in my village". Well, what do you do?
I told him that he would do as his Chief Constable ordered. That if he wanted to make an issue of it, he would be facing an AA solicitor in court, not me.
And did he want to make a bigger fool of himself than he was already doing? As he stood open-mouthed I just closed the door on him.
B-I-L folded up laughing - said the plod was an arrogant pillock, and needed his nose rubbed in the dirt.
Respect deserves respect - arrogance a swift shove off the high horse!