Why did Castile get shot?

Gus Philpott, The Woodstock Advocate
7 July 2016 (2:09 PM)

Why did Philando Castile get shot in Falcon Heights, Minn. this week?

After getting stopped for a busted taillight, he reached for his pocket when he should have kept his hands in the air.

His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, says in a video "press conference" that they were told to keep their hands in the air.

From a CNN.com article, "He let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm."

And from the same CNN.com article, "The officer still sounds distressed as he explains, 'I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand off it.' "

The Minnesota crowd is already buying the rope for the cop's neck. Claims of "the cops are executing blacks" are already in the air.

The media is largely responsible to the growing gap between whites and blacks. The yellow journalism incites groups against one another.

You and I know that, if you are legally armed and so inform a cop, you had better follow the cop's instructions exactly. You do NOT reach toward your firearm unless the cop tells you to do so. If you are sitting in your car, and the firearm is on your right hip and your wallet is in your right back pocket, be very clear to explain that to the cop while both of your hands are still on the steering wheel.

The cop will tell you exactly what he wants you to do. Don't move a hair on a finger until you understand exactly what the cop wants you to do and when he wants you to do it. You might even repeat back to him what he asked you to do, and then do it very s-l-o-w-l-y.

Be smart. Stay alive.