I have heard that directive several times.
One of those times was when I walked over to a police car idling in a parking lot to tell the driver to move so I could back out of a designated space.
When did it became acceptable in America for police officers to tell citizens to take their hands out of their pockets, in the name of "officer safety?" (The leading cause of death among police officers is traffic accidents, but they never refuse to get in the car.)
Isn't citizen safety more important? If there is no law criminalizing that behavior, should I have to follow his orders to be safe from him?
American police kill more citizens than the police of any other industrial country, and it isn't even close. If a heavily armed officer is afraid of a law abiding citizen with his hands in his pockets, and is allowed to act on that fear, it is a recipe for disaster.
The Supreme Court has relieved police of their duty to protect citizens' safety, but they are still well paid public servants. A servant does not bark orders at his employer.