In several industrialized countries the beat police don't carry firearms at all. I wish we could do that here, but with our elevated levels of firearms ownership, I don't know that police officers could do their jobs safely without their own firearms.
That sucks, too.
I don't know if it's more or less common that police draw their handguns on people, but I believe (without knowing or any specific evidence) that we have militarized our police more than in the past. I also believe there have been good reasons for much of that change--for instance most police wear body armor now. That didn't happen by accident.
I'm not sure if we've discussed this here before, but Kalashnikov's rifle revolutionized individual firearms, which, particularly following the expiration of the hideously named "Federal Assault Weapons Ban, has revolutionized the weaponry the common U.S. citizen (who chooses to) carries. Yes, bad guys could always get guns, and what good mob movie doesn't include Tommy guns (fully automatics were't illegal until 1934)? Nonetheless, the individual weapon of choice has changed and is much more powerful now than it used to be. I don't know the specifics, and it isn't limited to a change in rifle ownership--a similar change has occurred in handguns. I suspect (again, without anything more than belief) that police are more fearful now of the threat posed by individual gun owners than in decades past. Which is curious, because although the number of firearms sold has gone up, the number of firearms owners has declined significantly.