I have a number of police as personal friends across the country so in general I hold them in the highest regard but it is true some get out of control.
Johnny this has been covered many times before, but mostly in isolation from state to state. Cazz is a good resource and is almost always involved in these discussions as well.
My recommendations for dealing with an officer is to first be polite, even friendly and guage their attitude. If they start ranting or carrying on with BS then you have the right to request the conversation be recorded. This often results in their attitude settling, they go get the recorder or they get in their car and drive off. I have used this a number of times when dealing with idiots on a collision course with an ethics tribunal. It also helps to be able to display an ID that makes them think twice about fronting in court to question your integrity.
Unless you are an armed and known dangerous criminal there is no reason at all for them to act in any other way than polite. Likewise, they have a job to do so if you have been a dickhead, just wear it on the chops, be nice and say thankyou.
Johnny you may want to get involved and contribute to www.roadsense.com
Geoff