I have never understood the trepidation that U.S. citizens have concerning law enforcement. If you're so fucking free and safe why do you tremble in the presence of authority? Are they not here for you and governed by you?
Unfortunately, no. We're not free and safe.
If you defensively resist the illegal actions of a cop, you'll get roughed up a bit, arrested, and then eventually take a plea bargain for 6-12 months for some BS charge so that they don't put you on trial for "assaulting a police officer" and put you away for 6-12 years.
Resist harder and they'll just shoot you on the spot. They'll get some review that finds that their actions were reasonable under the circumstances, and no one will question what they were doing to you beforehand. The only exception is if your buddy catches the whole thing on video and posts it to youtube.... Then they get fired. For killing you.
Want to try it out on a small scale? Try the TSA. Go do ANYTHING that isn't completely compliant, subservient behavior (question their authority, complain about them groping you, ask to see a manager, refuse to comply with some inconsequential thing, whatever), and you'll find yourself detained for at least a few hours, and possibly end up with a criminal record depending on the words that come out of your mouth during that time.
There are tons of cases where someone does something seemingly innocent without any malice or criminal intent who then gets dragged through the system... All you have to do is stand out in some way that draws their attention, and they'll find a way to make your life hell. Convict you? Probably not, but they'll wreck your life for months and you'll run up tens of thousands in defense costs.
The US is a police state, and it's getting constantly worse.