The Los Angeles Times reports that there’s a new sheriff in town …and his name is Jerry Brown. The California Attorney General is seeking a court order to impose reforms on the Maywood Police Department citing “gross misconduct and widespread abuse.”

Brown’s actions are being taken as a result of a 30 page report detailing the findings of a 16-month investigation into the tiny police department which was found to be riddled with corruption and abuse of power.

The investigation into the Maywood Police Department, which polices the cities of Maywood and Cudahy southeast of downtown Los Angeles, was launched in April 2007 shortly after the Los Angeles Times published an article calling Maywood PD “a haven for misfit cops.” The article revealed that at least one third of the  37 officers on the force had either been forced out of previous police departments and/or had had brushes with the law while working in Maywood. As it turns out, the article was right.

The Attorney General’s report offered a critical analysis of the entire department. Some of the highlights in the report included:

• inadequate screening of officers prior to hiring
• inadequate training of officers
• inadequate supervision of officers
• inappropriate culture with the department
• sexual harassment
• vulgarity
• discourteous to members of the public
• racial and ethnic insensitivity

The report further detailed an overall nature of abuse by officers, including:

• officers routinely using excessive force
• making arrests without probable cause
• failing to investigate citizen complaints

The report also cited eight incidents of excessive force, half of which involved the use of a Taser stun gun. In 2006, a citizen, who asked an officer for his badge number after witnessing what he believed was excessive force, was handcuffed beaten and shocked with a Taser. When his father yelled “What are you doing to my son?,” he was beaten as well.

The Maywood Police Department also had a policy of stopping and citing drivers then impounding their vehicles in violation of state and federal laws.

If Brown succeeds in obtaining a court order, it would be the only one in effect in California, said Scott Gerber, a spokesman for the attorney general.

Brown added “I’m dead serious about this” …When you have rogue cops, it’s just intolerable in a free society.”

Maywood Chief of Police Frank Hauptmann, who was appointed in December, stated that “[his] belief is that the things in that report are things of the past.” Nonetheless, he added that an overhaul of the department was underway.

Tags: Attorney General Jerry Brown, california attorney general, Maywood abuse of power, Maywood investigation, maywood police abuse of power, maywood police corruption, maywood police department

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Police Corruption. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.