I've only had one interaction with a Texas state trooper. I was a passenger when we were pulled over right outside Memphis. My friend bought a pre-loved car from Tennessee and didn't know the process of getting it properly registered, etc to drive on the road. The two officers were very nice folks. We chatted quite a bit. Apparently, one of their highest priorities is to look for drug runners. They explained how big of an issue it is in Texas, so they always like to be friendly and chatty. When the gesture is reciprocated, things go smoothly and they know that they don't have a drug runner or any other kind of criminal on their hands. When the people they pull over aren't as friendly, things can go south very quickly.
All in all, I have great respect for our local and state LEOs. They really do have a tough job. It doesn't help that they are also getting a bad rap from other not-so-nice people. Sure there may be a very small handful of bad apples, but there are bad apples in every organization or company. Unfortunately, those bad apples tend to define all police organizations, which makes it tough for all the good apples to shine through.
to all the good LEOs out there.