Police Check of Bodybuilders

I enjoyed your editorial. As a paramedic in the Los Angeles City Fire Department, I had also encountered people of unclear persuasion. Early on I learned that rudimentary evaluation of the chest could leave me more confused. We never considered panty checks for what is present or absent (too impractical, embarrassing and humiliating--what if we chose wrong?).

To avoid such a difficult situation, a senior paramedic taught me to check the larynx. The larynx enlarges during adolescence in males (maybe testosterone poisoning) and does not respond to treatments by street hormones some men use to develop breasts.

Perhaps if the Costa Mesa police officers were more street smart they would not have humiliated that poor woman.

DAVID Van STRALEN, Redlands