
This is a tense and uncomfortable standoff between a police officer who is used to getting his way (as all police officers are) and a smart couple who politely argue the injustice of what the police officer is putting them through as he is arguably unlawfully detaining the couple. You have to have some reason as specified in the law governing police behavior before detaining law abiding citizens otherwise it is false imprisonment, a crime.
In response to the officer’s question, they make it clear to him that they were looking for their cat who had escaped from their car.
“Our cat escaped from our car in this neighbourhood”.
The police officer got himself into a jam. He expected the couple to meekly comply. However, nowadays there is a backlash against police officers abusing their power. As the couple refused to provide identification and argued their case saying for instance that they were doing nothing wrong and that they pay the officer’s wages, the officer was trapped in an argument he could not win and neither could he back down. To back down would undermine his authority.
The officer was trapped in a problem of his own making due to abuse of authority. He looks slightly embarrassed and uncomfortable. The couple have the upper hand. And they filmed the whole encounter. It is not clear whether the officer realised this. I think he did. He may have mentioned it in the video but the soundtrack is indistinct.
We don’t know if they found their cat. Although hardly worth mentioning, the cat must have been out of his carrier in the car, if there was a carrier. There is a moral to this story: don’t leave your cat out of the carrier in the car if you get out of the car. It is far too dangerous because if the cat gets out of the car in a strange neighbourhood he’ll be lost and confused. He may stay that way and then the cat’s owner has a genuine lost cat problem which is very emotionally draining for both participants.
I comment a lot on this site and repeat myself sometimes but I took one of my cats for a ride once and quickly regretted it, for he did bolt and got into a strange neighborhood. It was three weeks before we found his way home. I say we because I helped a little, but leaving unwashed balled up socks along a path that he could follow by way of scent. I like to think it helped. Anyway yes, at the very least a cat should be restrained by a harness and leash, but best if in the carrier. Even if he likes to go for rides he might bolt anyway, probably because when a door opens, cats just have to go through them. They’re weird that way.