As any lawyer worth his or her retainer fee will tell you, whenever you are approached by a cop, no matter what the reason may be, do not volunteer any information that is not written down on your identifying documents: I.D., driver's license, registration, insurance info, etc. Cops are not trying to help you, especially if you are black. No matter how "friendly" they may appear to be, they are trying to find a "probable cause", a reason, an excuse, a pretext, to search and arrest you. If they persist in questioning you, insist upon calling a lawyer. Even then, they may (and likely will) continue to try to trick you into "confessing" to something — anything (no matter how minor or minuscule) from littering to jaywalking, to their old standby, the broken tail-light, that gives them “lawful” cover. Still, keep your mouth shut until you can get to a phone; and immediately begin filming them. Let them know you are filming them. Tell them that they are on Facebook Live right now and around the world. Often they will object to being filmed and demand that you stop (or they’ll even try to forcibly take or damage your phone). That’s why you should invest in a dashboard camera.

Finally, if you do survive an “encounter,” really do call a lawyer; let them review whatever footage you have; let them decide whether or not you have a “cause of action” (a case); let them approach the cops and the city. And, in the end, hopefully an honest judge or jury will decide both your and the cop’s fate.