[WildUtah]

"I’ve been raised to consider the police my friend. I understand the notion of them being in office to protect and serve the people and I have felt comfortable in the presence of the law as long as I can remember. Naive[sic] as ever I went into this experience just like that… with the police as my ally."

OP should write a nice thank you letter to the München cops for disabusing him of this notion. It was his responsibility as an adult to have learned long ago that the authorities are not your friends and the cops are not on your side.

Just imagine the nasty policies of total fascist police empowerment that he's probably been voting for with ideas like that. Maybe a little education will have straightened him out a bit.

Really, people who expect an encounter with the cops to be respectful, convenient, not humiliating, fair, decent, honest, voluntary, or inexpensive are a part of the problem. I'm glad OP is wiser and I hope he will now run his life with due consideration for how things are instead of some childish fantasy of how things should be.

It's imperative to memorize the rules of legal limits and rights you have with cops in any country you transit often. In those you visit just once, memorize the phrase "I demand to speak to my embassy immediately," but learn to be patient because it takes a very long time to work. In America, learn to say "I do not consent to a search," and "I want to speak to a lawyer," and "am I free to go," and don't say anything else.

I don't know the rules for Germany, but OP needs to.

So go look them up, OP. It's your responsibility now that you've been educated. Also, if there's a citizen grievance procedure, it's your immediate responsibility to file one.

[danielsamuels]

> Really, people who expect an encounter with the cops to be respectful, convenient, not humiliating, fair, decent, honest, voluntary, or inexpensive are a part of the problem.

All of the encounters I've had with British police have always been fantastic, they're always respectful, tell you exactly what they're stopped you for, what's going to happen next. I'm glad I live in a country where I don't have to fear the police.

[inflagranti]

Thats such arrogant drivel. Ever thought that your attitude might actually be part of the problem? If you approach any other group of people with contempt and suspicion, they will approach you the same and trying to teach people to 'toughen up' and 'learn some lesson' about reality will not improve the situation

Just because cops might have too much power in the states and sometimes get armed with former military equipment doesn't mean you need to generally expect cops to act in bad faith the way you describe. It's not some "childish fantasy" that it's not like that in other countries, it's reality in may that police are generally courteous.

There was a similar discussion on here recently about it being a 'rookie mistake' to approach work situations in good faith and that you should have everything on contractual basis and getting a lawyer. That's such a horrible approach to live and again, from what I hear it seems to some degree be an unfortunate reality in the states, but that does not mean that it should be accepted like this and that it's just an inevitable part of a society.

[fineman]

Victim blaming. They've got a job to do and if they can't, they should get a different job.

[prodmerc]

I wouldn't say people who expect the police to be nice are part of the problem, but the police are not your friends. They follow their instructions and protect the law, which is also not on your side. It's on the side of the abstract "majority", so you have a very high chance of not being included.