I agree wholeheartedly on the no knock thing. But I havent seen the instant resorting to "command voice" that you describe, not only in any of MY interactions with cops, but in the cops i call friends. I suspect part of that is me not being a fuckface to begin with, and the other part is the relative rarity of that actual tactic compared to folks who complain about it.
It's certainly a problem, i'm just not convinced that it's the problem that folks think it is
It has nothing to do with being a "*expletive deleted* ck face." It has everything to do with cops on power trips. I'm about as law-abiding as anyone you'll ever meet, and I've encountered it numerous times. Two examples that I always remember because they were so egregious:
First: On my way home from a Wal-Mart. My route takes me down a divided, limited access highway for several miles. The highway runs beside a river and the first couple of miles are very serpentine. As I started to turn onto the entrance ramp, I saw that traffic was stopped ... and backed up for as far as the eye could see. There are other routes I could take, so I checked my mirror, saw nobody in back of me, and started to back off the ramp. A state trooper came running down the ramp, yelling and waving his arms. He told me if I backed up he would arrest me. (Not ticket -- "arrest"). I tried to explain that there was no purpose to be served by forcing me to add one more vehicle to the backup, but he insisted -- using "command voice." So I had to go up the ramp and sit in traffic for an hour and a half while they cleaned up the mess made by a truck that had dumped its load all over both southbound lanes. God forbid this cretin could station himself at the bottom of the ramp and wave people off so they wouldn't add to the mess. Nope -- he waited up the ramp and forced everyone to join the traffic jam.
Second: I had a routine question to ask of one of the administrative departments of the state police. A female trooper answered the call. I started to ask my question, and she interrupted me:
FT: Name, social security number, and date of birth.
Me: Huh?
FT: I need your name, social security number and date of birth.
Me: But I'm not calling to make a complaint or report a crime, I just ...
FT: I NEED your name, social security number, and date of birth.
Me: But I'm not calling in any official capacity, I just ...
FT: I NEED YOUR NAME, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, AND DATE OF BIRTH. (Command voice at work)
Me: No, you don't <click>
I called back ten minutes later and got the sergeant in charge of that unit (whom I did not and do not know). He answered my question, we had a friendly chat for about ten minutes, and he never even asked for my name, social security number, or date of birth.
They are teaching this command voice crap in the academies. The theory is, I suppose, that no matter how mindless the command is, if it's repeated often enough and loudly enough it will result in "compliance." And that's what modern policing is all about. It's not about serving and protecting, it's about compliance.