Last February when I was home, I was riding my mountain bike in the street and it started to snow. A big SUV pulled up next to me and a cop started questioning me about where I live, what am I doing outside, etc. He ordered me, in a stern voice, to go home. I was pretty shaken by his angry tone, and I thought, what the heck? I can ride my bike in a light snow if I want. This is crazy. Of course, maybe he had good intentions, as I generally believe cops do. But I also could sense an unnecessary tone and some sort of a power trip.
I find it interesting that in communist China I could never imagine anything like this happening. The police in China have the opposite problem - they have too little power and often don't get involved when they should (they don't even carry guns). In my few years of living here I've never seen a cop car pull over another car or chase down a speeding car. Generally they just let cameras do the work of writing speeding and red light tickets. Cops will get involved in fights here, but often after it's too late or seriously escalated. Also, bribes are often accepted to thwart any sense of true justice.
In the video below, I don't know what happened in advance. Maybe these guys were disturbing the public somehow. But the police response seems harsh to me, especially after living in China for a long time. Granted, in general, I'd take American cops over Chinese cops, simply because they get involved when they should. My complaint is that they also sometimes get involved when they shouldn't. And in this regard, they could learn from Chinese police.
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