The same one as you! ;) 8:42: You ok? (An apparently conscientious and concerned question from the police. Good, but too bad he doesn't stay like this.) 8:53:

The same one as you! ;) 8:42: You ok? (An apparently conscientious and concerned question from the police. Good, but too bad he doesn't stay like this.) 8:53: (Irritated, but civil response, by the accused, detailing why the cop is being a dickhead.) 9:15: (Cop doesn't like that he's being called out on dickhead moves and the tenor of the conversation changes. Cop proceeds to use his higher standing to escalate the situation instead of deescalating.) You're missing the change in the cop's mindset right before the "asking about the cigarette." If the cop actually felt confident about why he pulled her over, he would have been able to handle how she responded. Instead, he felt threatened by the questioning of his motives. Why didn't he articulate the full reason and purpose for the stop right then and there? He decided to continuing escalating, and that is primarily on him. He could have slapped the ticket into her face and walked away. Also, he wasn't bothered by the cigarette until he perceived an affront to his authority. That's childish playground behavior, not an attitude befit a public servant. 5-6 car lengths on a wide open road is an instigation. If a non-police officer driver does this, you wonder to yourself, "why is this guy up my ass?" This isn't some densely packed freeway, and he's 5-6 car lengths behind her. Why do that?