Question about police... (and a good story too)

[oneredED]

Ok, i recently had an "incident" with a policeman (in which i wasn't fined), and up until this time i had the utmost respect for cops, but i'm no longer have any.

THE STORY:

I live (when not at uni) in a small country town, population about 800 people.

Long story short, two boys riding a petrol scooter, towing an esky rode up to myself and a mate at 2-3am near the foreshore of our local lake where my friend and i had been sittin and chattin for an hour or two. They offered us a beer, we said "no but cheers anyways", and they rode off and started messing around (burnouts, monos, throwing cans, etc). We left and walked elsewhere to get away from them in case the police came.

My friend and i (not at all drunk) saw a cop car in the distance cruising around very slowly, and continued on our way. A short time later a cop car approaches us from ahead and flashes it's high beams and we go over to the window, thinking we'll be fine...

We gave names and adresses (uni addresses).This was the conversation that followed, in almost EXACT words.

COP: "So what are you two boys doing near the lake at 3am???"

US (mostly me): "We had a sixpack each of beer at a mates house over the last few, maybe 4 hours i guess, and decided we'd better walk it off before morning so we'll be fine to drive."

"You guys have been riding a scooter around haven't you. You've been ****ing keeping people awake all night"

"Oh, you're looking for the guys on the scooter? We saw them like, 10-15 minutes ago on the foreshore there, riding up and down the peer with an esky thing on the back... Looked maybe 15-ish..."

"Don't ****ing bullshit me. Why are you guys puffing then? You were running from me?"

"Pardon? I'm smoking, as is XXXX (friend), and my ciggy doesnt have a filter as another friend broke it off earlier, hence i'm coughing and a bit weezy right now"

"Don't even try to..."

"We can give you more info on the boys and the scooter if that'd help ya out?"

"Look, don't ****ing bullshit me"

"well i'm sorry, but do you want the truth or not?"

"Dont ****ing lie, you know damn well you shouldn't be making noise on the street at 3 am keeping everyone else awake acting recklessly. I ought to do you for drunk and disorderly." (we had been speaking in almost whisper for nearly 2 hours since leaving a friends place, we were not keeping anyone awake)

"I'm sorry, did you say drunk and disorderly?"

"DON'T **** me around! Just **** off to where you're staying, and then in the morning you can **** off to whatever town it is you live, ballarat was it? and never come back..." (where he pulled ballarat from i don't know)

He then drives off with us still trying to tell him we have nothing to do with the scooter.

THE QUESTION:

Now my question is, can he swear at us like that? I thought it was very offensive. Before you call me soft, i'm sorry but i don't appreciate being told by a policeman who has been in the town for six months to "**** off" back where i came from and never come back, when i have lived in the town for nearly 20 years, and in fact i was even born there. Heck we hadn't even done anything wrong....

I have never ever wanted to punch someone as much as i did at that moment, but i'm glad i didn't

Cheers people!