Philando Castile deserved better

LETTERS LETTERS@USATODAY.COM After he killed Philando Castile,

officer Jeronimo Yanez lost the job he should have never had in the first place. I have no doubt that Yanez feared for his life, but it was an unreasonable fear with Castile’s girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter in the car.

There needs to be much better vetting of candidates for the police force than there is at the moment. A candidate should be subjected to extensive simulated situation testing before he or she is given the job of protecting and serving the public.

If a person is constantly in fear for his life, he should not be a police officer, and firing him for killing a mild-mannered cafeteria worker doesn’t help the dead man’s grieving family and friends. It would not surprise me to learn that the passengers in Castile’s car have a lifetime of suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. Marvin W. Schwartzwalder Walden, N.Y.

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Philando Castile was doing exactly what he was told to do. He presented his insurance and was getting his driver’s license, just as he was asked to do.

Castile even informed the cop he had a gun, just like a concealed carry weapon holder is instructed to do. He didn’t want to get shot, either. But he was. Yurek Hunt

This dash camera video shows me a completely different story. Bad dialogue on both parties. The cop’s reaction after he realized he screwed up shows he isn’t the deviant I originally thought he was.

The victim probably should have waited to tell the cop about his gun until after his hands were on the steering wheel. Ann Noble

It’s not the cop’s fault here. When stopped by cops, go slow and comply. If you get them riled up, and they think you have a weapon ready to use on them, they will light you up. Castile should have listened, but he didn’t. James John