An entertaining thread. I don't condone haphazard driving like everyone else here.
The police car was not setting a good example either by tailgaiting that close for so long. If I were an old curmudgeon (oh, wait, I already am), driving a real beater, and wanted some headache in my life, I could imagine hitting the brakes and letting the tailgating cop rear end me. "oops, thought I saw a squirrel in the road". Just a fantasy. Best thing is to give idiot drivers their space rather than engage with them.