If you’re cute, there’s always the chance… ;)
“Hey, officer… didn’t you used to be an elevator operator for Hudsucker Industries?”
If you can afford the ticket AND buy me drinks, you might be able to afford me. 
Hahaha
Sir is common enough around here but I’ve encountered the stern American “Sir” before.
Kay: Don’t “Sir” me young man, you have no idea who you’re dealing with!
The US is dangerously close to becoming a police state. The police and security agents call you Sir because they are ostensibly public servants. The word itself is polite. They are here to serve YOU, the public, but, like you pointed out, the tone is menacing. And it’s MEANT to be menacing, I think. I’ve noticed it a LOT, too. A lot of very angry people go into security positions, and they are extremely stressful jobs. Plus, there’s a paranoid fear of violent crime in the US that just doesn’t match the statistics, so a lot of resources have been allotted to policing the public. For example, the US has the largest prison population in the world. And do you remember the paramilitary force that the city of Denver unleashed on protesters at the 2008 DNC?
Not uh, really… but I could look it up!
There is no relationship between use of the term “sir” and whether the US is a police state or not.
No relationship at all, no sir!
I read that in the voice of the racist crows from Bugs Bunny. I couldn’t help it 
In general, I find that the “sir” is entirely superfluous. It’s not that you could replace it with something less formal, it’s that it wasn’t necessary at all to begin with.
As I’ve pointed out in threads (here and elsewhere) that lament that children are no longer taught to say “Yes, sir” and “No, ma’am” all the time, it is possible to be polite without using those words. The version of “sir” I mentioned in my previous post is, in my opinion, the opposite of polite.
With cops, a lot of time they are video or audio taping the incident. They want it clear that they were addressing the unknown male and doing it respectfully. I think do think the formality conveys a sense of “You need to be paying attention and taking this seriously.” I have issues with a lot of cops procedures. This isn’t one of them.
How would you prefer that I phrase the, “Thank you, sir,” that I say when a guy holds the door for me?
When my partner calls me “Sir,” I know he’s ready for some fun in the dungeon.
That’s five words.
Is that some kind of sexism? Do you only respond affirmatively to men?
In my experience (Texas) the word “sir” is a two way street.
When I was younger and looked like a long haired punk I’ve been pulled over for legit traffic violations. After a few tickets for speeding, I realized the power of the word “sir.”
If you give a police officer a respectful (and it needs to be believable) “sir” to them, along with honest answers, you can get away with a warning most times.
I’ve had a personal string of 11 warnings in a row, mostly for speeding when I was younger. I am certain it was because of my politeness, deference, and the use of the phrase “yes sir.”