Facing an angry police officer is one of the first examples in How to Win Friends and Influence People. I remember once where I turned the wrong way into a construction area late at night and accidentally drove on the tar. The officer was pissed at me and suspected I was drunk (I hadn't had a drop). Calmly explaining that I was tired and lost and had screwed up out of confusion rather than malice got me out of there with only a lecture.
