[catalogia]

> police go into every interaction thinking that the person on the other side could be armed and could kill them on a whim.

They could be, but are very unlikely to be. Despite the huge number of privately guns owned in America, the vast majority of cops will never be shot at nor have valid reason to shoot at somebody. Cops who constantly fear for their lives are operating under a warped view of reality.

I think it's a culture problem for cops. They hang out on cop forums, cop chat rooms or facebook groups; they read cop newsletters and generally socialize with other cops. These groups have the effect of amplifying stories about violence against cops, because those stories are sensational and of obvious interest to cops, and that amplification in turn gives rise to a warped perspective on how risky their job actually is.