Seven Myths about the Police

The police exercise legitimate authority. The average police officer is not a legal expert; he probably knows his department protocol, but very little about the actual laws. This means his enforcement involves a great deal of bluffing, improvisation, and dishonesty. Police lie on a regular basis: “I just got a report of someone of your description committing a crime around here. Want to show me some ID?”

Military Suicide Epidemic: More U.S. Soldiers Have Killed Themselves Than Died on Battlefield in 2012 - More U.S. soldiers have died this year by taking their own lives than on the battlefield. The Pentagon says there have been at least 154 suicides among active-duty troops in 2012, a rate of nearly one each day.

Marijuana Decriminalization: Efforts To Relax Pot Rules Gaining Momentum In U.S. - Catharine Leach is married and has two boys, age 2 and 8. She has a good job with a federal contractor and smokes pot most every day. While she worries that her public support for marijuana decriminalization and legalization could cost her a job or bring the police to her door, the 30-year-old Warwick resident said she was tired of feeling like a criminal for using a drug that she said is far less harmful than the glass or wine or can of beer enjoyed by so many others after a long day's work.

From a lemonade stand in her front yard, Cheyenee and her mother, Angela Seaux, sold the refreshing treat for $1 a cup. Her unique sales approach — waving her arms and yelling at neighborhood traffic to stop for a drink — worked as she quickly raised $97.

Stefan Molynuex announced he's been diagnosed with lymphoma. Apparently the prognosis is good (as far as those things go) but he was unable to obtain an accurate and timely diagnosis within the Canadian medical system and had to travel internationally in order to purchase effective care.

A man was tazed repeatedly and kicked in the head by police while he was in handcuffs in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. His wife, who was eight and a half months pregnant, watched and recorded the event, begging the police to stop tazing him. Throughout the disturbing and graphic video, the wife’s voice may be heard, begging the three police officers surrounding her husband to let her take him home.

John Horner, a 46-year-old fast-food restaurant worker, lost his eye in a 2000 accident and was prescribed painkillers. Years later, he met and befriended a guy who seemed to be in pain himself. His new friend asked if he could buy some of Horner's pain pills. Naturally, the friend was a police informant. "My public defender told me, 'They got you dead to rights,'" he said. "So I thought, 'OK, I guess there's no need taking this to trial.'"

Recently a 16 year old was killed in the Bronx by police officers in plain clothes. Witnesses swear that the man had no gun. People take to the streets in protest. Police officers challenge stop and frisk laws. "Roughly 4.4 million people have been stopped by the NYPD during the joint tenure of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to official government data. Nearly nine out of ten have been released without an arrest or summons. About 86 percent of those stopped have been black or Latino. "

Kid flips over cops on park bench. Cops arrest kid for it.

Legislators in Colorado are still working out how to regulate recreational marijuana. Until new guidelines are announced medical dispensaries are still playing by the old rule book and only selling to those with valid registrations. While sales will be regulated, Amendment 64 clearly states that its legal for anyone 21+ to possess or gift up to an ounce (and grow 6 of their own plants) the free market has come up with an innovative 64 compliant solution.