It is reported in the news that during an arrest of suspected protestors a police officer instructed one person that they could not drink their coffee with a reason that it may be poisoned. This would generally be interpreted as an instruction:
Jenkins was told not to sip his coffee. “The officer said: ‘You can’t do that, it could be poisoned or something.’
In such a situation would this instruction hold any legal force? If so, what law would one be breaching if one continued to drink one's coffee? Would the situation be different if it was important for you to do so, for example if it was to avoid a hypoglycemic episode? I am asking from a strictly legal perspective, I am aware that it is likely to be in one's best interest to follow such instructions even if one is not required to do so.
