Punished L.A. Cops paid by union

L.A. Daily News reports:

The civilian board that oversees the LAPD is investigating a police union policy - believed to be the only one in the country - that pays the salary of officers suspended from duty.

The seven-year-old policy has provided pay for up to 25 days to hundreds of officers who have been suspended for everything from excessive force to failure to appear in court.

More than 7,000 officers, or about three-quarters of the nearly 9,000 members of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, pay $300 a year for the service, union officials said.

Anthony Pacheco, president of the five-member Los Angeles Police Commission, said Tuesday that he's concerned that the policy undermines the LAPD's disciplinary system "if there is no consequence to the imposition of the suspension."