I dunno, I don't think someone my size has any advantages as a cop. You have intimidation factor, but that doesn't usually count for much because you're not allowed to be the aggressor in a situation as far as I know. Plus I'm easy to see, and shoot at. You'd have to be blind to miss me at 20 yards. I can run pretty fast, but if I had to tackle someone it's going to be ugly, not a clean tackle, more like a train wreck with both of us sustaining moderate to severe injuries. If I had to be a cop I would rather be smaller. I mean if things get out of hand you can always shoot or stun people right?
I see your point (and have seen it in action), but considering that even here not even close to "most" people are looking to fight, the intimidation factor can lead to a big cop fighting once every few years, compared to my once ever few months. Even in non-violent situations, the intimidation of size is an asset. Most regular people are wary around aggressive people who are larger than them.
I had to start wearing glasses again recently, and ever since I have noticed a major difference in the amount of attitude people are willing to attempt on me compared to before I wore them. It's like they see the nerd from high school again and not the uniform. Now can I handle most of them? Yeah, easily, but since any fight is a bad fight as I get older, I'd rather them see the jock bully than the D&D nerd.
I used to work with a guy who was your size, and no one ever messed with him. He was strong as hell, but slow and not really a good fighter. I was smaller and much weaker, but because of that I had to learn how to fight much quicker than he had to.
Another consideration is the need to get "the jump" on people. I learned really quickly that I needed to be able to identify when a fight was imminent and make the first move, while the bigger guys tend to lack that skill because they aren't intimidated by people like I am. And yes, I have no qualms with admitting that someone intimidates me. BUT, I have a job to do and I will ALWAYS do it, so I had to adapt to my limitations, and I did.
When I came to my new command after promotion, it was obvious that everyone was feeling out what type of cop/boss I was going to be. Within my first week, I threw down with 2 drunken French brothers in front of a bar at 7 am in broad daylight on a busy street in front of quite a few onlookers. I got a lot of respect from the people who work for me after that. They knew I could handle myself and wasn't afraid to do it even if people were watching, which is a big consideration to most cops in Manhattan. They're all scared of cameras and Youtube. Me? If I ever make youtube, I promise to post the link here!