Editing Maricopa, California (section)

==Government misconduct==

Maricopa Fire Department was established in 1910 with Chief F. W. Ball serving as the first fire chief. Maricopa Hospital opened on April 22, 1911, and the city was incorporated on July 25, 1911. Gary Biggerstaff was the chief of police when budget problems forced the city to close its police department in 1998. The [[Kern County Sheriff's Department]] provided police services to the citizens of Maricopa from 1998 until 2006 when the city reopened its police department in the old building.

As reported in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' on July 4, 2011, the [[Maricopa Police Department (California)|Maricopa Police Department]] has become embroiled in a local controversy playing out through large signs posted on the city's main thoroughfare. The police have been accused of racial profiling and "over-enforcement" regarding traffic violations and frequent towing of vehicles driven by drivers without proof of insurance or with license or license plate infractions. In mid-2011, [[American Civil Liberties Union]] lawyer Jennie Pasquarella is quoted as saying, "Maricopa has been a shining example of impoundments gone wrong," and "They're essentially creating a racket to steal people's cars."<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-adv-maricopa-20110704,0,7126125.story | title=News from California, the nation and world| website=[[Los Angeles Times]]| date=July 4, 2011}}</ref>

The damage done during this era to the city of Maricopa's reputation persists, as recently as May 2022, [[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]] reported that, "...the town of Maricopa gained a reputation for targeting drivers, especially farm workers, in the hopes that they'd be undocumented immigrants, thus allowing the small police department to impound their cars without much fuss."<ref name="11 Insanely Corrupt Speed-Trap Towns – Reason magazine">{{cite web |last1=CIARAMELLA |first1=C.J. |title=11 Insanely Corrupt Speed-Trap Towns |url=https://reason.com/2022/05/08/11-insanely-corrupt-speed-trap-towns/ |website=reason.com |publisher=Reason |access-date=May 10, 2022}}</ref>