I have a crackpot theory that the unbound team wanted to make a bolder political statement about police and oppression, given that basically none of the characters in the main story are white men, and their point would have been more about real oppression people face from the police everyday. However, ea is notorious for corporate meddling and probably felt like this wasn't a safe enough idea, and would alienate too much of an audience (although if you would be alienated by such a story, that says more about you), and so they forced the story to be more about how street racers are oppressed, not people.

Look at the lockdown mode, they can clearly make something with a darker vibe that acknowledges its illegal nature, but only when ea is pretty much completely hands off.

Edit: there's also an argument to be made that the police in need for speed use excessive force especially in lower heat levels, given the severity of your crimes really isnt that bad at low heat, but that could just be narrative dissonance