You can ask for a supervisor at a traffic stop. You can’t demand one.

We have all seen the video.

Blue lights flash in the rearview mirror. The driver pulls over, lowers the window just enough to pass a credit card through it, and, before the officer gets through the first sentence, announces:

“I’m not answering questions. Get your supervisor.”

It is the traffic-stop version of asking for the manager because the restaurant forgot the ranch dressing.

There is only one problem: the side of the road is not a customer-service counter, and a police sergeant is not a portable judge.

The “call your supervisor” script has become part of the social-media age of policing. Smartphone videos, body-camera footage and so-called police-auditor channels have turned ordinary traffic stops into online legal seminars — except the loudest person in the video is not always the one who understands the law.

So, Street Smart question of the day: Can you ask for a supervisor during a traffic stop?

Absolutely.

Can you require the officer to stop what he or she is doing until one arrives?

Generally, no.

No general constitutional right forces an officer to summon a supervisor simply because a driver asks. An agency may have its own policy telling officers when supervisors should respond, but department policy and constitutional law are different. A policy can govern employees without creating a personal legal right for every driver on the roadside.

And asking for a supervisor does not hit some magical pause button.

In Georgia, O.C.G.A. § 40-5-29 requires a licensed driver to display his or her driver’s license when a law enforcement officer demands it. If an officer lawfully orders a driver out of the vehicle, the U.S. Supreme Court has also held that officers may do that during a valid traffic stop. That rule comes from Pennsylvania v. Mimms.

In other words, “I want your sergeant” is a request. It is not a legal force field.

That does not mean drivers surrender their rights when the blue lights come on.

The Fourth Amendment still limits unreasonable searches and seizures. A traffic stop must have a lawful basis, and the Supreme Court has said in Rodriguez v. United States that police generally cannot stretch a traffic stop beyond the time reasonably necessary to handle its mission just to go fishing for something else.

You can also decline consent to a search. Police may still search a vehicle without your consent under recognized legal exceptions — such as when they have probable cause — but “No, I do not consent to a search” is a perfectly lawful sentence.

You generally do not have to explain where you are coming from, where you are going or why you were out at 2 a.m. You do, however, have to comply with legal requirements tied to the stop, including producing the documents Georgia law requires.

You can record the encounter, too. In Smith v. City of Cumming, the federal appeals court that covers Georgia recognized a First Amendment right to photograph or videotape police conduct, subject to reasonable restrictions. Recording is protected. Physically interfering is not.

And if the officer hands you a citation, signing it does not mean, “Yep, you got me.” Georgia law specifically says the signature acknowledges receipt and the obligation to appear; it is not an admission of guilt. Refusing to sign can create an entirely different problem involving bond and further detention.

What about the supervisor?

If one arrives, he or she may review the situation, calm things down, answer questions or address an obvious problem. Department policy may give that supervisor authority over the officer. But a sergeant is not your instant appeals court, and requesting one does not legally entitle you to have a ticket canceled.

The place to fight a citation is court.

If you believe the officer acted improperly, get the officer’s name or identifying information if available, save your recording, request the body-camera footage and reports, and use the agency’s complaint process. In Georgia, those records may also be available through the Open Records Act, subject to lawful exemptions.

Then take your evidence to the place built for arguments: a courtroom.

The shoulder of Highway 365 at 11:30 at night is a terrible courtroom. There is traffic flying by, an officer standing at your window, and no judge anywhere in sight.

Ask for the supervisor if you want.

Just remember: it is a request, not a constitutional coupon for one free roadside manager.