Steven Hildreth Jr was stopped for a broken headlight but said he was shown respect, despite being 'a black man, strapped and wearing a hoodie'

A black man who was wearing a hoodie and carrying a gun when he was stopped by police has praised the way he was treated with mutual respect by cops in a post that went viral.

Steven Hildreth Jr was stopped for a broken headlight but instantly told officers he was holding a weapon when they asked, and that he was a member of the National Guard.

But cops were reasonable, treating him with respect form the outset, and even let him off the minor offence, he said in a post that now has more than half a million likes.

He wrote: 'I’m a black man wearing a hoodie and strapped. According to certain social movements, I shouldn’t be alive right now because the police are allegedly out to kill minorities.

'Maybe…just maybe…that notion is bunk. Maybe if you treat police officers with respect, they will do the same to you.'

Mr Hildreth shared the post with the hasthags bluelivesmatter and ALLlivesmatter, speaking out against a number of high-profile shootings in America.

Hundreds of thousands of people liked the post, which seems to challenge a view that police in America are institutionally racist.

Karen Weast-Osborn wrote under the post: 'Way to go Steven for sharing your positive expierence with the world. We only hear about the bad ones and I get tired of all the negativity.'

However, it did attract some criticism form a number of people who seemed upset that he would speak in favour of police.

Victoria Bryan wrote: 'This is so disappointing. I wonder if you consider yourself black or dark white.'

And Kofi A. Prempeh wrote: 'Tell Tamir Rice's mother and Eric Garner that,' in reference to two black people who were controversially shot by police.

Mr Hildreth was carrying a glock with an X300U light on it which the officer complimented when he disarmed the military man, who was licensed to carry the weapon

Tamir Rice was just 12 when he was shot in Cleveland Ohio for carrying a toy gun in 2014, sparking outrage from the black community.

Eric Garner died after a police officer put him in a chokehold - which is a prohibited move - for almost twenty seconds in Staten Island, New York, last year.

There was an investigation into the killing but the officer, Daniel Pantaleo, was allowed to keep his job, sparking organised protests in New York.

However, Mr Hildreth explained his experience in detail to show that the majority of police officers can be trusted, and to promote mutual respect between cops and the black community.