Taxpayers foot the bill for keeping bad cops on the job

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports:

Heard the one about the cop convicted of murder who's now serving life in prison?

He draws a $3,100 tax-free pension check every month -- and will for the rest of his life.

How about the deputy who, while waiting to learn if he'd be fired for allegedly beating his girlfriend, took advantage of extra work offered by his department to double his salary?

His overtime-bloated pay now entitles him to a $63,000-a-year pension.

Then there's the officer-turned-molester who sexually abused his stepdaughter.And the drinking-while-on-duty deputy who vandalized a van. And the cop who left his gun out, enabling his enraged lover to kill a man.

All of them either now receive -- or one day will -- handsome retirement benefits. And most of these ex-officers' pensions were made even bigger, thanks to their former employer -- the King County Sheriff's Office.

An abuse of public trust is occurring time and again at the expense of taxpayers: Bad cops have -- and will continue to -- cost King County and Washington millions of dollars, as publicly bankrolled salaries and taxpayer-subsidized pensions reap lucrative rewards for officers who've tainted the badge.

The public sector is amazing isn't it?