I think there is a lot of grey area here.
In the video I watched on two different sites the guy that did the removal did not look like police nor did he behave like police.
In the video the unkempt “cop” in saggy jeans walked over to an old man sitting quietly in his chair, leaned in and dragged him out as soon as the “cop” reached the passenger’s row without a word.
The man was levered from the window seat into the aisle floor, striking his head during the maneuver, screaming in shock and pain for a few seconds until his head was struck. Then the passenger was dragged up the floor of the craft silent and bleeding while many people in the cabin said, that’s terrible, why did you do that and variations. When the man awoke unattended in the walkway outside the plane he staggered back into the cabin dazed and confused. That is not something he can be blamed for, he was concussed.
I think many of us would have a problem with being arbitrarily removed and might say no, please find someone else I have a “wedding, funeral, daughter’s graduation, dying father, urgent appointment”. We might not realize that upon our saying that with no warning we would be assaulted and injured. I’d like to think that isn’t the way its supposed to be.