"I spent less than 20 minutes outside. Five of those minutes were spent enjoying the game. One of those minutes I spent trying to look as pleasant and nonthreatening as possible as I walked past a somewhat visibly disturbed white woman on her way to the bus stop. I spent the other 14 minutes being distracted from the game by thoughts of the countless Black Men who have had the police called on them because they looked “suspicious” or wondering what a second amendment exercising individual might do if I walked past their window a 3rd or 4th time in search of a Jigglypuff."
So the "death sentence" in the title refers to the author's speculations triggered by a "white woman on her way to the bus stop". Perhaps she thought a dude continually looking at his phone would bump into her accidentally. Perhaps that is just her facial expression.
People need to give each other some benefit of doubt and not aggressively try to interpret all kinds of cues.
If you truly believe your life is in danger, and since you already have your phone out it would provide some level of protection if you inform the officer that you are filming the encounter. Make sure you have the screen locked activted and then you can film even with the screen turned off.