"ask yourself how many times do you actually see people shaking hands on the street corners that you drive by"

1) I have seen many, many people shaking hands on street corners. If you really think that the only reason people shake hands is drug deals, then I don't know what to say.

2) The article we're reading is giving us an example of people just shaking hands. Do you think the author is making this up?

3) The handshake was really a side story here. The person went to jail because they asked questions and didn't do whatever the officer said -- plain and simple. It's not a question of if the cop thought the person was breaking a law or not, they felt like they weren't getting "respect" (meaning obedience) so they arrested the guy. If you want to defend the police, let's talk about the real issue.

You say the person was a loudmouth and berating the police officer, but you have really no evidence of that. Besides, if you have any experience with the way cops treat people in the inner city, then you know that people are arrested all the time for trying to assert their rights in a way that's not disrespectful at all, simply not what the cop likes.