I just witnessed a nasty accident.

Off in the distance, I saw a minivan slam into a bicyclist. I wasn’t close enough to see the details, but when I drove up I truly thought that the bicyclist was dead. The only other people on the scene were witnesses who saw the whole thing, and were freaking out on the phone with 911, and the distraught man who crashed into the cyclist.

I got out of my car to try to help the guy on the asphalt. I checked to make sure he was breathing; wasn’t bleeding too badly; and started talking to him as he slowly regained consciousness. Then I just kept him talking until the cops showed up.

The cops are what I’m writing about.

Over the years I’ve had a number of interactions with the police (none where I’ve done something wrong). Every time I deal with the cops I think, “there is no way they are going to be assholes to me this time.” And every time I’m disappointed. I’m not looking for them to be pleasant, I’m just looking for them to not be assholes. I set low standards, and they always fail to meet them.

These cops seemed completely indifferent, uncaring, and unhelpful towards the victim. They were also very mean to the witnesses. It’s totally fucking unnecessary.

I’m so damn tired of police treating people poorly. They are supposed to serve and protect. Citizens aren’t the enemy; especially those of us who actually try to help in bad situations.

I’m not looking for a medal, or even a thank you. It’s not about that. I just don’t want the police treating me like shit when I try to help a person in need.

The next time I hear an off-duty cop bitch about how “they spend all day seeing the worst of humanity,” I’m going to tell them to open their eyes and pay attention and be thankful when they happen upon someone doing the right thing when they didn’t have to. People do it all the time, but if you’re so jaded, you will never notice.

• Politics