Ask the tea party people about how their right to even politely question a cop, has been enforced..
Speaking as one who has attended multiple tea-parties, I can say that the police were always very nice and polite. Their only goal was to keep order and keep everyone safe.
I was thankful for their presence, as I am quite sure some anti-tea party protestors that were there were trying to get something started. The cops moved them along and told them they needed to do their protesting on the other side of the street. If they hadn't done that, who knows what might have occurred.