Insurance Agency Pulls Maywood’s Coverage

Maywood, Calif.’s insurance agency has terminated the city’s policy, citing two recent officer-involved shootings and its failure to hire a new city manager.

The California Joint Powers Insurance Authority announced it would end Maywood’s general liability and workers’ compensation coverage effective July 1, Interim City Manager Angela Spaccia told the Los Angeles Times.

“This termination potentially puts the city in the position where it cannot continue to operate its police department and provide other city services,” a statement on the city’s website said.

The Maywood-Cudahy Police Department is currently undergoing a reorganization after the state attorney general’s office found widespread overuse of force and other gross misconduct.

There have been two officer-involved shootings in 2010, according to the department. In April, officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man who was stabbing a woman, authorities said. In May officers shot and wounded a man, but the circumstances surrounding that shooting were not released.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating both incidents.

The department was also the target of a workers’ compensation case this year, in which an officer was hospitalized after a drunk driver crashed into her police cruiser, according to authorities.

The city has been without a permanent city manager for more than a year. Officials say that some candidates have turned down job offers, while others have failed to meet qualifications for the position.

Calls made to the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority were not returned.

Spaccia said Maywood might find it easier to regain its coverage through a proposed partnership with the city of Bell.

Maywood is a small city of about 30,000 people located about six miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.