Gov. Paterson has pardoned a solider whose earlier conviction on gun possession charges barred had barred him from fulfilling his lifelong goal of joining the New York Police Department, the Times reports. In only his second pardon since taking office, Paterson granted clemency to Osvaldo Hernandez — a former paratrooper with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division — who was arrested in 2002 when police found a semiautomatic pistol beneath his car seat. more ›

Should a soldier who served in Afghanistan be able to join the police force? Well, not in New York City, when the soldier in question has a previous gun possession convictions The New York Times looks at a machine gun-wielding active duty soldier who can't apply to the NYPD when he returns home. more ›