Armed Black Man's Traffic Stop Goes Viral -- But Not Why You'd Think

A black Army veteran’s Facebook post about a traffic stop has gained national exposure but not because he was abused, hurt or detained.

It was just the opposite.

Steven Hildreth, Jr., also an author, detailed the night he was pulled over for a missing headlight while he was carrying a pistol on his hip and how it ended peacefully and respectfully because he was cooperative with officers.

The post had more than 630,000 likes Tuesday afternoon and more than 320,000 shares.

Hildreth’s post was critical of #BlackLivesMatter and other racial justice groups, saying his experience goes counter to their agenda, but his opponents say his story and the subsequent reaction to it only trivializes the movement and minorities who have been killed unjustly by police.

Hildreth’s story goes like this.

He is pulled over for a missing headlight and is asked if he’s armed. Hildreth says he has a pistol on his hip and tells officers exactly where it is so they can disarm him. His registration card is also out of date, though his registration is not.

The officers run his information, hand him his pistol in an evidence bag, tell him to get the light fixed and leave it at that.

“I’m a black man wearing a hoodie and strapped,” Hildreth says. “According to certain social movements, I shouldn’t be alive right now because the police are allegedly out to kill minorities.”

You can read the full post here:

His post comes at a time when police violence against minorities is in the spotlight, especially with the spread of viral videos — like one showing a South Carolina school resource officer slamming a black girl down in her desk or more violent ones like officers shooting a 12-year-old black boy in Cleveland and not administering aid to him until paramedics arrive.

The Guardian has counted 961 deaths at the hands of police so far in 2015, with blacks more than twice as likely to be victims compared to whites or hispanics.

The Washington Post says 829 people have been shot dead by police this year, 29 of whom were black and unarmed.

Hildreth says his encounter with police shows that cooperating and being respectful makes for a harmless experience for both parties. He visited the Tucson Police Department three days after his post, where police thanked him “for his kind words and show of support.”

Hildreth told Fox and Friends that he received death threats from the post.

“I think they’re angry because I dared to challenge their narrative,” Hildreth said. “Because they believe that simply because I’m black I’m going to go along with what the Black Lives Matter movement goes along with without any independent critical thought.”

His post, though, has drawn plenty of criticism, especially for his shots at #BlackLivesMatter.

“No one thinks that police are ‘out to kill minorities,’ but rather, that actual facts and data show that black people are disproportionately policed,” Tommy Christopher wrote in a Daily Banter piece titled “Black People Are Now Expected To Praise Cops For Not Killing Them.”

“This post is viral, but it doesn’t debunk anything,” Relevant Magazine’s Jayson Bradley tweeted. “Racism exists, even if you can find opposing examples.”

Patch has reached out to Hildreth; we’ll let you know if we hear back.

Image via Tucson Police Department Facebook