I suspect RP's issue is more in line that a civilian bested a bad apple who lost it in less than 2 minutes.
I think you’re right: a young man outsmarted a thug, and RP can’t stand to think that there could very well be another one out there waiting for HIM!
At least this young man had the tools to deal with the bad apple fairly. When I was his age, one of my casual associates literally blew himself and 4 cops to hell for the cops having the same attitude as this officer and RP. The cops used to pull over any male from 16 to 25 for no reason at any time, and detain us/them for up to 2 hours. Driving home from work, driving to work, out on a date, didn’t matter, the cops had to let us know who was boss.
There was a HUGE investigation, and guess what, a good portion of the traffic department was fired for abuse of authority.
Most people stop digging when they find themselves in a hole. Many here have had similar strongly negative experiences with Officer Friendly. It tends to color one’s perceptions.
As for the presence of a police band scanner: I have one, my dad has several, and many of my friends have them. They are handy for finding out where accidents and traffic snarls are so they can be avoided, etc. It’s also kind of interesting to listen when someone you know gets pulled over. I have given my neighbour a hard time more than once for what I heard over the scanner.
There is also the inconvenient (for statists) fact that the police broadcasts, radios, and airwaves just happen to BELONG to the people of the United States, and additionally, since those same radio waves are travelling through the very BODIES of the public, all citizens have the right to listen to them, since they OWN them. (see US Constitution, all rights not listed herein are reserved to the several states or the PEOPLE)
Another inconvenient fact is that there are court decisions that state plainly that “if the police choose to use surreptitious and clandestine means of surveillance, the citizenry has every right to use whatever means to discover such.” That means that radar detectors are legal too.