"You should never talk back to a police officer"

[ElboRuum]

14. There is a stark difference between this being an authoritarian impulse...

...and there being a measure of understanding the situation you find yourself in. Due to the nature of their jobs, every person they pull over, question, etc. is, to them, a potential threat to their own safety. I don't think any reasonable person, regardless of what view you may have of the police, would argue against the idea that when their safety is being threatened that they have justification to protect themselves (just like any ordinary citizen would).

What you never want to do is prove that perception of threat as justified even if you feel or know you have the right to do whatever challenging statement you make or act you perform.

That said, I do not defend Darren Wilson's actions by saying that this is good advice. I say this because it is simply good advice.

Darren Wilson is indicative of a system which no longer sees itself as a protective agent of the community, rather it sees itself as a control placed upon communities for the exclusive purpose of serving the needs of the law and the government which enacts it. In such a role, the implied requirement for an even temperament that community protection would naturally entail is removed. Modern law enforcement appeals to applicants with aggressive tendencies and authoritarian mindsets. In such an environment, any interface between the police and the citizenry comes precharged with the potential for lethality. Darren Wilson is a poorly trained officer whose position shielded him from consequence from his glaring overreaction to a what he irrationally thought was a threat to his safety.