"In most countries, this person would have had the living crap beaten out of him, then charged with obstruction of justice and resisting arrest."
I couldn't agree more. What has the world come to when a police officer can't abuse unarmed civilians?
In the Real World©, policemen don't have a *RIGHT* to beat civilians up if they don't like their attitude. This would apply to most non-totalitarian countries.
Plus, I'd say, too, that in Scotland, "fuck off" is not an insult.
I stayed with a friend in Scotland a few months ago. The first morning of my visit, his alarm clock went off pretty early. I got up and started eating breakfast. After 20 minutes I got back to his room and told him to get up too. He mumbled something I didn't catch, and then he calmly said "fuck off". I didn't take offense back then, because I know him. He'd curse at least once every ten seconds my whole visit. God, I miss him. =) People like him seem to be common there, at least in the part of Scotland where I was staying.
Coarse language is an important part of their culture, just like policemen assaulting people they don't like is an important part of yours.