I'm sorry, this is ridiculous. Knocking on the rear-window with a pistol (and pointing it at a little girl!) isn't taking a reasonable precaution against potential aggression, it's plain provocation.
First line of my comment: "It sounds like this officer was out of line.". I thought it was clear my comment was about stops in general, not this specific one.
I mean interactions where police are stopping someone they think may have committed a crime. Whether that's a traffic stop or theft they proceed with an abundance of caution because the perpetrator could very well be armed. This isn't an issue in other countries. In the UK it's unlikely the criminal will be carrying a gun so police in general don't even need guns.
