How to survive a police traffic stop

Re “Policeman acquitted,” June 17

Imagine if a training video was produced that was directed toward young black men with the purpose of instructing them how to avoid conflict with law enforcement. Imagine that this video covered a multitude of scenarios, one of which was how to behave if the young black man is carrying a gun for which he has a permit.

I suggest that this hypothetical video would instruct young black men to behave exactly as Philando Castile did before being shot to death by a police officer in St. Anthony, Minn. He was forthright in telling the officer he was legally armed; there is no evidence he attempted to draw his weapon.

The officer who shot Castile claimed he feared for his life. Have we reached a point where any behavior exhibited by a black man can be construed as life threatening? Can no prescribed behavior, however precise and perfect, assure his coming out alive after a routine traffic stop? Ron Terranova

Huntington Beach