Bsgal, just remember that those cars are radio dispatched. It is very possible, and most likely, based on your description that the officer was responding to something like an intrusion alarm at a business (we generally won't use emergency lights and run intersections for this type of call) and was cancelled before he got there. He then went on to stop and get gas because he was in the area.
Some of you are correct that they do get out of hand occasionally. Its usually the newer officers that have just been cut loose for solo patrol. I just had one of those "old dude to new guy" conversations with one of them on my squad. Sometimes it takes firmer approach with some to teach them that even though they are doing right, the public may not peceive it as right. Everything you do, no matter how trivial is always in the spotlight.
I will tell you another story about how perception and the public can be ridiculous. I had just moved into a new house and I was leaving for work. I had been waiting for a letter from a relative so I stopped at my mailbox at the end of my driveway in my patrol car to see if it had been delivered. I went through my mail and didn't see it, so I put the mail back in the box so when my wife came home she would take it into the house. Some "I hate the police" citizen saw me checking my mail and immediately assumed the worst. He called in a formal complaint that I was stopping and searching through peoples private mail! He never even considered that it might be my own mail box. I usually don't let these types of things bother me but this one rubbed me the wrong way. Here I was in full uniform, in a marked patrol car and the first thing this bozo thought was I was doing something wrong.
Some days the folks we work, for make it really hard to stand tall.
Some of you are correct that they do get out of hand occasionally. Its usually the newer officers that have just been cut loose for solo patrol. I just had one of those "old dude to new guy" conversations with one of them on my squad. Sometimes it takes firmer approach with some to teach them that even though they are doing right, the public may not peceive it as right. Everything you do, no matter how trivial is always in the spotlight.
I will tell you another story about how perception and the public can be ridiculous. I had just moved into a new house and I was leaving for work. I had been waiting for a letter from a relative so I stopped at my mailbox at the end of my driveway in my patrol car to see if it had been delivered. I went through my mail and didn't see it, so I put the mail back in the box so when my wife came home she would take it into the house. Some "I hate the police" citizen saw me checking my mail and immediately assumed the worst. He called in a formal complaint that I was stopping and searching through peoples private mail! He never even considered that it might be my own mail box. I usually don't let these types of things bother me but this one rubbed me the wrong way. Here I was in full uniform, in a marked patrol car and the first thing this bozo thought was I was doing something wrong.
Some days the folks we work, for make it really hard to stand tall.
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police officers. Truly I do. Police have a thankless, low paying high risk job. 
. But I didn't argue, I didn't complain. I accepted that the officer was doing his job. However, I did say "this is my first ticket, can you tell me how this works" and received a very flippant reply and was told to read the back of my ticket. Gee, thanks. 
You can't tell me that went to the police. 
