Instead of Arresting Woman for Selling Flowers Without Permit, Good Cop Buys Them All

 

Orlando, FL — In the land of the free, attempting to earn money in certain professions without first paying the state for the privilege of doing so can and will get you kidnapped and extorted. These laws are applied to children behind lemonade stands as well as adults selling tacos. The state callously and with extreme prejudice has been documented arresting people, or even beating up women to enforce these licensing laws. But the story below isn’t one of these. It’s about a good cop who used his discretion and made a positive difference in this world when he responded to a call about a woman selling flowers.

Last week, Orlando police received a complaint about a woman who was daring to sell flowers without a permit. Given that it was Valentine’s day, the woman seized on the opportunity to make some much-needed money. But the “see something, say something” society turned her in for unlawful street vending.

As we’ve reported on instances similar to this one on countless occasions, when Orlando police officer James Wilson showed up, we could have predicted the outcome. Normally, the woman selling flowers would have been shut down, arrested, her flowers confiscated, and her money seized. She may have even been thrown in jail or beaten for failing to obtain the proper permit.

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