Desiigner says bystanders helped him chill out during his altercation with the police -- praising them for helping him to calm down -- but says he'll no longer mess around with tinted windows.
We got the rapper in L.A. Friday, who admits the standoff and shouting match on Wednesday was intense, and believes it could've been worse if not for a bystander around him.
He tells us a fan on the scene -- filmmaker Tariq Nasheed -- lowered the tension, checking on him to make sure everything was alright ... and he says his lawyer handled the legal part of things.
Desiigner says he was first pulled over by a cop on a motorcycle for no plates and window tint ... but everything escalated once he stepped out of his vehicle. The rapper says the officer threatened to use his Taser and pepper spray when Desiigner tried getting back into the car.
Desiigner says he's going to get plates and fix the tint ASAP ... getting his car to the shop as soon as he can.
In video from the scene, you see the officer, pepper spray out, which sets Desiigner off -- calling the officer a "racist bitch."