The police had no business being involved in the first place. The man had committed no crime
The issue at that point in time isn't who is right and who is wrong. The issue is whether that time and place is the right time and place to figure it out under the law. That's really the one mistake this Dao guy made. When I heard the story about the incident I immediately assumed it was a foreign-born passenger. It would be unlikely for any American with any social skills would to find himself in that situation and react the way he did.