Eye no offense but it does mean they work for us they are performing work for who??????
That would be us. It does not matter whether or not we have the direct ability individually to hire or fire them. See Ruby's post above she makes good points.
Again because you say it is stupid does not make it so...." I have told officers this...." and the Deputy Chief of one department made the statement himself to me. The good officers realize who they are "working" or performing duties for. And I see no one was advocating saying that anyway they were just pointing out who public servants "serve".
If they do not serve us than they shouldn't be living off our tax money.
This does not mean I am not polite and cordial in my interreactions with them...as I am with any other civilian.
No. The idiom "work for" carries with it the connotation of hire, fire, set pay, take personnel action, etc. "Work for" implies an employee-boss relationship.
Saying to an officer that he works for you is incredibly stupid because one is making an arrogant statement to another most likely because he is being arrogant. The problem is that the person to whom the statement is being made, lawfully or unlawfully, has tremendous power in the situation. The fact that you have done it and it worked out does not mean it would be stupid to attempt it again.
It reminds me of standing your ground in a crosswalk, shaking your fist as a truck approaches, and shouting that you have a right to stand in that crosswalk and make the truck stop. It would be a stupid thing to do. A truck stopping for you would not prove that you were right--just that you did something stupid AND got lucky.
It would be wiser, when dealing with a LEO, to not make contentious statements like, "You work for me." Stick to the tried-and-true. "Am I free to go?" "Am I being detained?" "What reason do you have to detain me?" "What crime are you investigating?" Be respectful of the LEO, even if he is not being respectful of you. He'll sound pretty bad on the recording if he is disrespectful. If he isn't, you will likely resolve the situation pretty quickly and favorably.
Saying, falsely, "You work for me," will just likely get you hit by a truck--and is a stupid and false thing to say.