I completely understand his thinking. My husband, who loves kids (we have five), has been very stand-offish towards little kids for this very reason.
A very, very sad situation.
When I am home alone on Halloween, which is often the case, I don't answer the door to the little trick or treaters.
We know that cops are psychologicaly addicted to asserting their authority. Cops typically grow up in a family where they had little autonomy, and they love getting back on all who oppressed them before.
They see everything with ordinary citizens as a black-white scenario. And want to get brownie points for running us in.
My own horror story at the hands of cops: I was bicycling along a nearby lake with my neighbor's boy, with the permission of his mother. David was 13, I am 60. David stopped, and a dozen yards later, I stopped to care about whether he was tired or a mechanical problem. A cop came along and demanded, "What are you doing?"
Me: We were bicycling. I was turning around for David. He's just around the corner.
Cop: !Show me your identification!
Me: I left my wallet at home, but it's just two blocks away. {I didn't realize that I should always carry my wallet when bicycling in my neighborhood.} You can call my wife.
Cop: We are on the look out for sexual predators like you.
Me: {Head spinning--like me?? I was merely bicycling with my neighbor's son, and his mother encouraged him getting some exercise and talking with me about school and his other interests, and now I am accused of being a sexual predator? Reality disconnect big time.} You can call David's mother.
Cop: Who is David? Why do you know him? What are you doing with this boy?
Me: {Fortunately David caught up at this time; he was obviously scared, but he stammered out answers.} Ask David.
Cop: Who is this man? Is he your father or Uncle?
David: No.
Cop: Does your mother know you are here?
David: I think so. {exactly 'here' being ambiguous for a 13-yr old trying to be truthful, as to which street corner}.
Cop: Come with me.
Me: About the bicycles? We can't just leave them.
Cop: Do you want me to put you under arrest?
Me: {5 minutes later, with David in the passenger seat and me behind plexiglass on a metal seat, but fortunately not handcuffed, we arrived in front of my house with flashing lights and a second patrol car with flashing lights--quite a scene.} {Wife comes out to see what is going on; neighbors come out. David's mother comes out.} {David is looking totally scared; I am looking WTF? David's Mom comes forward to say that me and my wife are long-time friends of her family, and what is the problem?}
Cops--now 4 of them: "Son, do you agree to go back with your mother?"
I am speechless. This boy is not the son of these thugs. Nothing has suggested--or even hinted at--that he is unhappy in his family or with his Mom. All we were doing was taking an evening bicycle ride in our neighborhood.
I have not the tiniest bit of respect for cops ever since.