Like in this video which shows a police officer ordering a woman to do him a favor, I recently had an encounter with a Los Angeles Country Sheriff where he repeatedly said “Do me a favor” in attempt to unlawfully move me from a public sidewalk that was still open to everybody else except for me because I was photographing the incident.

It is important for people to know that when a police officer tells you to “do them a favor” that that is not a lawful order and that you do not have to comply to their request. And if they continue to harass you with their “do me a favor” requests in order to get you stop filming the incident, ask to speak to their supervisor. If they refuse to get their supervisor (like the Sheriff did in my case), then ask the officer if their “do me a favor” request is a lawful order. At this point, make sure your video camera is recording because if the officer says yes, then you may have a legitimate complaint against the officer for violating your civil rights.

The “Do me a favor” trick is used by officers all the time because it works very well for them and it gives the impression that they are giving you a lawful order that you must obey or face arrest. In reality that is not the case and you do not have to listen to them.  On the other hand, always be prepared to be illegally detained or unlawfully arrested if you do not follow a police officer’s unlawful orders—which is referred to as contempt of cop.

And remember, always ask the officer for his name and badge number, which they are legally obligated to give you. If they refuse to do so, then you have another reason to file a complaint against the officer.