coincidentally, I’m listening to my local police scanner this AM. A call goes out to check a home burglar alarm. The dispatcher says, “homeowner is visually impaired, armed, and can’t tell the difference between an officer and a civilian.” How’d you like to be the one answering that call?
I would make a point to drive up with my cop-car lights flashing, toot my cop-car siren from the driveway, and announce over my cop-car loudspeaker that this is the police, and we're checking the alarm. Yes, we'll wake up the neighbors, but it will ensure that nobody around has any doubt that the person coming up to the door is a cop.