As a UK citizen, I have spent quite a bit of time in the US, and offhand I can remember being pulled over by the police three times (once because my tail-lights

As a UK citizen, I have spent quite a bit of time in the US, and offhand I can remember being pulled over by the police three times (once because my tail-lights were not working, and twice for speeding). In each case the interaction was calm and professional, and I didn't feel at all threatened. However, I suspect that if I were a different colour (and perhaps spoke with a different accent), or if the same encounters had happened in a time and place where the officer already felt stressed, the dynamic might have been quite different.