Criminals spill across Penn Street Bridge from city, turn West Reading into a living hell

Coppers reenact the exodus of miscreants from their lair in Reading to its innocent neighbor to the west.You can't paint a better picture of the quaint, vibrant Berks County community.

West Reading -- where specialty shops male it a Manayunk on the Schuylkill; its peach trees and magnolias in full blossom; home to pizza to die for -- is not a place where strollers expect to encounter thug lifers wielding sharp, pointy instruments of menace.

Oh, no?

Here is what the newspaper reported happened yesterday:

Police broke up a large brawl Wednesday in the 400 block of Chestnut Street in West Reading and took several people in for questioning.

Borough police received reports of a large brawl involving knives less than a block away from the borough hall about 5:45 p.m., according to Berks County 9-1-1 dispatchers.

The first officers on the scene called for backup from city police.

A city K-9 unit was among the first to arrive and the brawl quickly broke up.

No one had been charged as of deadline.

A West Reading officer said he did not think anyone was stabbed or seriously injured.

He didn't "think anyone was stabbed"? Keep moving, nothing to see here.

This is just a hop, skip and fall over dead from the GoggleWorks, where the corpse of a gentleman was discovered Wednesday with a bullet wound to the back.

It might have something to do with the Bermuda Triangle of death and mayhem that runs along the river.

Frisky West Reading fuzz accused of tasing folks for fun, posting videos on YouTube

As if the DA didn't have enough on his plate, now he has to investigate allegations that two of West Reading's finest, Matthew Beighley and Ryan Phillips, used their department-issued Tasers to zap unsuspecting fellow cops, relatives and ladies around the squad room and at a costume party.

Imagine, you're minding your own business, downing a Monster drink, and then -- KAZZHOWWEY!!! -- your fanny feels like it just woke up after a night in the electric chair.

The kooky coppers then supposedly posted evidence of their mischief on YouTube, which the DA has since had taken down, depriving others of sharing in the pranksters' mirth until the DVD comes out.

Betcha these guys enjoyed snapping towels at unwitting classmates in the boys locker room.

If things don't go well for the officers, they always can launch a second career on "Jackass."