Zach Bryan Applauded By National Police Association For Apologizing After Arrest

Zach Bryan's praises are being sung by an organization that advocates for cops nationwide ... this after the country singer apologized for his behavior during his recent arrest.

Retired Sgt. Betsy Branter Smith, a spokesperson for nonprofit org National Police Association, tells TMZ ... what officers appreciate is that Zach came out quickly to say sorry for what went down, adding his apology felt very earnest.

Smith isn't alone here -- she says other cops she's talked to are feeling the same thing about Zach's apology.

According to Smith, it isn't uncommon for officers to run into folks with an entitled attitude, similar to Bryan. But, she's grateful a celeb of Bryan's status is showing it's okay to admit fault and say they support the police.

TMZ was first to obtain the report dash cam footage of Bryan's arrest, where he stated, "f***ing cops are out of hand, truly," and stated the officers were a bunch of middle-aged white dudes arresting people.

Sgt. Smith is letting Bryan's comments slide, though, adding, "This is a very frustrated young man and he had some inappropriate things to say, but he complied with the officers. He didn't try to fight them or attack them. He mouthed off. And he apologized."

She says some country stars have lately been speaking out against law enforcement, so Zach's apology video was refreshing -- moving forward, Smith hopes he'll use his status to help support American police officers.

As we reported, Zach took all the blame in his explanation video ... posted after his dramatic arrest that went down in Oklahoma on Thursday.