Pulls up beside me? No effect.
Pulls up behind me, though, that’s a different story. Because I know for a fact he’s looking at my plates and tail lights and gauging whether I just came to a rolling stop. He might even be punching my plate number into his dashboard computer, looking for outstanding warrants or something. And I’m wondering whether he’s going to keep following me for several blocks to see if I’m going to do anything interesting. So yeah, I tense up a bit in that situation.
Nervous as hell.
Joe Arpaio is the biggest asshole cop in the United States.
That doesn’t change the fact that that’s how I like to think of them. 
Oh yeah, and another thing, I’d agree there’s a difference between the cop behind me and beside me. Beside me, I figure they’re going wherever it is cops go. Their car has to be somewhere, and it just so happens it beside mine. The nervousness factor is somewhere between nil and just nervous enough for it to register, but not so much for it to be classified as anxiety. Behind me is nervousness and anxiety, even if my car is filled with toys and medicine for the sick children of cop widows.
Added: I like that I didn’t have to click the url to know who Joe Arpaio was, because I learned all about him by playing the “Cops” television show drinking game.
I hope you don’t tell them that when they’re pulling you over.
I think it also depends on what kind of police. City police or county sheriff’s office? They may have a ticket quota to make up, or just don’t like the looks of me, or maybe they’re bored. With a DPS trooper*, though, I figure they have better things to do and I generally respect them (perhaps naïvely, I don’t know). University police? Don’t give it a second thought.
*Department of Public Safety, Texas’s state highway police.
That makes two of us. Ok fine, 41 y/o black man.
I get nervous for a bit, but generally calm down after I’m sure the cop isn’t looking at me. I’m not exactly sure why it would make me feel safe: what is he* doing that would actually protect me? It’s not like there’s a high incidence of actual crime in my podunk little town. Heck, people won’t even run the lights.
*Sorry, I know very few female cops.
Driving: Definitely yes. I always think there’s a possibility I’m doing something wrong. If it’s at night, I’ll check to make sure my lights are on.
Walking: No, I actually feel friendly towards cops in that case.
Swimming: Hey, you need a warrant for this pool!
I agree with you guys on the walking part. That being said, the only time I’ve ever conversed with a cop while walking was at like 2 am with some friends of mine. We were like 16-17 at the time. The cop was busy with someone else it seemed but he looked over at us as we walked by and said “Be safe, kids.”
In the US or other Western countries, perhaps slightly nervous.
In the Gulf, not at all.
In Africa or the former Soviet Union, a bit more nervous. 
I don’t drive, but I answered Nervous/Anxious. I get nervous when I see a cop, and I’m just walking down the street. I’ve never had any trouble with the police, I’ve never gotten a ticket - as I say, I don’t drive. They’ve even helped me out before. And yet. Every time I see a cop I think “Shit, am I doing anything wrong?”. I know I’m not doing anything; it’s a completely irrational way to feel.
Driving? Oh yea nervous as hell. If cops want to pull you over for something, they will find something. Even if you have ‘nothing to hide’ it’s still a hassle if you’re in a hurry somewhere. Traffic stops are also a great way to find out your license has been suspended due to an unpaid traffic ticket! Surprise!
Not driving? They don’t make me nervous at all.
I was down at the shops today and a couple of Cops were there, just grabbing some cash from the ATM and heading to a cafe for lunch, and I was nervous. And I haven’t done a single thing even slightly illegal.
But that’s the power of the symbol, I guess.
nah never get nervous, I’ll even pass a cop on the highway (it annoys me to see cars stacking up behind the cop because of nervous drivers fearful to pass), doing the speed limit of course. Just smile and breathe as you go by.
I think I like cops from the big city better than the small town cops where I live. The small town popo’s seem more twitchy, suspicious and ineffective at the same time.
Cops as people, no. Cops as people with guns? Hell yeah. I’m nervous around anyone with a gun if I don’t have one myself.
No: not at all. As Rigamarole says, they work for me. In most cases they’re younger than I am, and get paid less for doing their job than I get for doing mine. What the hell is there to be nervous about? Then again, it’s probably different in Canada I suppose.
Not at all. Even when I was driving illegally, I figured as long as I did nothing to attract attention, they’d have no reason to single me out.
I voted nervous.
In my younger days, I dated a couple of cops. Their coworkers, with whom we socialized, often had issues with power and authority. I didn’t like the way they made fun of ordinary folks and how much they delighted in “catching the bad guys” who weren’t always necessarily “bad”. Some of their bad guys were sick, mentally ill, intellectually challenged, or just not behaving the way these policemen thought was acceptable.
Some cops were on power trips. Some were just mean. It made me wary to be around them, in any circumstance.
A few bad apples and all that.
This, even more so if I’m driving outside of my home state.
And if it isn’t a red light, and both vehicles are in motion, I’m nervous as hell because there’s at least a decent chance I was speeding. Even when I know I wasn’t, I’m constantly checking my rearview mirror to see if the lights will start flashing.