The Jack-Booted Thug of the Week...

... collectively is the entire Maywood, California (a suburb of L.A.) Police Department, according to none other than California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who yesterday released the results of a state investigation of that force that covered the years 2001-2007. Brown actually went so far as to label the department an "agency of last resort", hiring incompetents and crooks who couldn't catch on at any real police force.

Here's just some of the hijinks that those good ol' boys ("boys", because there is only one female on the force) were up to:

"Among other abuses, officers with the Maywood Police Department used a Taser on a handcuffed man and his father"

"Several have been placed on administrative leave, Brown said, and one officer was charged with 17 felony counts stemming from the sexual assaults of three women."

"The report said officers seeking trips to Las Vegas and other perks from Maywood Club Tow impounded 17,773 vehicles in Maywood and Cudahy between 2002 and 2007." (Emphasis mine)

Mostly the vehicles of illegal immigrants, according to the story. Even though they are breaking the law by being here, illegals certainly don't deserve to be preyed upon by a thoroughly corrupt police department, one that is supposed to be protecting and serving the public, not profiting from the blatant abuse of their law enforcement powers.

Can you say, "out of control department?"

What's even more surprising is that the nearby city of Cudahy, California actually contracts with these bozos for police service. What, the Crips or Bloods aren't available?

"Brown said he would seek a court order requiring the Police Department to reforms outlined in the report."

Not nearly good enough. This ongoing criminal enterprise should be immediately disbanded (and prosecuted by using the RICO statutes?), and the police powers of every cop in the department revoked. Even if there are officers there who are innocent of these crimes, the fact that they didn't blow the whistle on this unbelievable level of corruption by their colleagues should permanently disqualify them from being cops as well. Let the State Police or LAPD provide policing for the two cities until and if Maywood can get its act together and hire some professional law enforcement personnel. The town can quickly begin this process by immediately bouncing its current police chief, who apparently has no sense of shame:

"'Simply because an allegation or accusation is made does not necessarily mean that it, in fact, happened,' [Chief Frank] Hauptmann said."

We just threw up in our mouths a little bit.