My impression of the shot was similar. But, then again, I wonder if that particular shot was used by the media just because it telegraphed what you described.
There really isn’t any telling of what the ‘provenance’ is I guess. However, with the police being so authoritarian so much of the time, the demeanor of the LEO is entirely understandable. It looks like he’s pulled the poor guy over for a drug stop when all the dude was doing is checking his mail it seems (letters in hand).