I think this is the key point: > Sue Rahr, a former sheriff [...], put it this way: “We do our recruits no favor if we train them to approach every situation a

I think this is the key point: > Sue Rahr, a former sheriff [...], put it this way: “We do our recruits no favor if we train them to approach every situation as a war. To do so sets them up to create unnecessary resistance and risk of injury.” If you treat everyone like they want to kill you, you telegraph that through your actions and mannerisms, and induce the very escalation you are worried about.