The police were totally rude. Perhaps even mildly abusive. And police are always authoritarian.

But --- and this isn't a moral judgement --- that and $4.00 will get you a cup of coffee in NYC. It's one of the largest cities in the world. It is incredibly difficult to police. I have a hard time mustering sympathy for the drunk guy who got yelled at while being ticketed for an open container. There are real police abuse issues (for instance, people's doors getting kicked down because the police get the wrong address on a no-knock warrant). I'll save my energy for them, and I'll keep not getting tickets by being nice to police officers. That trick will work for you too, and if you're like me when I was in my 20s, you'll find it's surprisingly easy to do once you get over yourself.