Whats the best way to handle negative encounters?

[mavic3usa]

Agreed, there are always few cases where there is overlap in enforcement.

For example, it is well known that game wardens have "extraordinary" powers.

 

[BigAl07]

"Law enforcement" = Federal law enforcement
"Law enforcement" ≠ State and local law enforcement

WOW! Man you have taken this to a whole new level of "arguing for the sake of arguing".

Law Enforcement is pretty much "all encompassing". If the law was meant to be "only Federal LE" it would state as such. That is not the case and the FAA is well know and documented to include local & state LE in their investigation processes. The FAA even has a specific group for the purpose of working with LE.

Come on man, let's stick to facts and quit muddying the waters just for the sport of it.

 

[Wreckhunter]

Your question is multi-layered.
My first question is - are you flying the drone legally? Are you just zooming around near people or close to buildings?
You're much more likely to attract negative attention in those cases and an appropriate response would be to apologize, land and move on. Although I've see a lot of droners get all up in it defending their right to do anything they want which just ruins it for the rest of us.
Looking professional really helps. I used to fly an Air 2S and a Mavic 3 but realized that I had to get too close to things so I moved up to a Matrice 30 which has a great optical zoom that keeps me far away from my subjects.
People do come up to me, mostly out of interest, but I'm usually doing something they can understand - surveying damage from recent storms, documenting flooding from recent biblical rains, mapping and photographing for a local conservation area and building progression in new subdivisions or real estate.
I have had some guys walk by and mutter under their breath about wishing they had a shotgun - I ignore them.
A measured response helps - like the way you dealt with the gentleman at the train station. But some people are irrational, and like my old boss used to say, "you can't save everybody."
If people are certain I'm doing something illegal, I invite them to see my qualifications, and/or permission to fly in certain areas and if that doesn't work, and I need to be there (to finish a mapping mission for example) I'd welcome them to call the police, or I would call if they get strident or bullying or dangerous.
We have to be aware that there's a lot of negative publicity from the occasional drone-fool and some people generalize all drone pilots as someone who must be doing something illegal no matter where they are flying.
De-escalation is important if a Karen has got in your face - but again, not all people can be reasoned with - act accordingly.

The odds of any of this happening in my area where I fly are 0.So I guess it depends on where you live and fly.