Final answer:
The four rules taught by Rashad's dad for police encounters are respect, cooperate, stay calm, and assert your rights, represented by option A. These rules underpin the balance between showing civility to authority while knowing one's rights during engagements with law enforcement.
Step-by-step explanation:
The four rules that Rashad's dad taught him and Spoony from a young age, if they ever encountered a police officer, are respect, cooperate, stay calm, and assert your rights. These rules emphasize the importance of treating authority with civility while also being aware of one's legal rights during interactions with police officers. The correct answer to the question is, therefore, option A) Respect, cooperate, stay calm, assert your rights.
A citizen's interaction with a police officer serves as an illustrative example of how individuals should respond to authority figures in everyday contexts. Compliance with reasonable requests is expected, but there are boundaries to an officer's authority.
For instance, a driver will pull over upon seeing the red and blue lights of a police car, acknowledging the officer's legitimate power to issue a speeding ticket for a traffic violation. However, an officer does not have the authority to make personal requests that fall outside of their official duties, like asking someone to mow their lawn.