However, I note (from your patreon) that you are both white and female. I don't normally like to pull the "demographic card", but in this case I think that will have made a huge difference to your experience. The police's stereotyping of people of colour is well documented. And I don't think most women realise how much suspicion men are treated with by default by a lot of folks.

One experience in particular really drove this home for me: I'd dressed up in "women's clothes" (a skirt, tights, a sequin top, lipstick, etc) for a party, and I had to walk my friend to the train station through a busy shopping centre. Some people gave me weird looks, but most people actually seemed a lot more friendly than normal. Smiling at me kindly, etc. It was eye-opening to me that having a feminine appearance could make people treat you so differently.