The officers used the distinctly non-issue equipment to stop a suspected stolen Mini in 2008.
The plainclothes officers smashed the Mini’s side windows and windscreen, then pulled the suspect from the car and arrested him.
While all six officers from the Enfield crime squad will be able to keep their jobs, it is reported the squad – which numbers 15 in total – is under investigation for a series of other incidents.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigated an allegation that members of the squad “waterboarded” a drug suspect, submerging his head in a sink of water.
There are also investigations into claims that the squad used excessive force when arresting a suspect and that officers made use of a seized vehicle.
There are apparently even outstanding allegations that the officers handled stolen property, including flat screen TVs.
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Of the six officers disciplined over the incident with the Mini, five were formally reprimanded and the detective sergeant has been reduced in rank to constable.
Deborah Glass, of the IPCC, said: “Officers acting in this way bring the police service into disrepute. You do not expect to see police officers smashing a car with a baseball bat.”
She added: “Whatever the threat they claimed to experience, their actions should be proportionate and reasonable – which in this case they plainly weren’t. They breached their codes of professional conduct and their actions were far below the standards rightly expected of police officers by the public.”
A spokesman said: “The misconduct panel found that the detective sergeant failed to properly supervise five officers by allowing them to use baseball bats and a pickaxe handle to carry out the stop and detain the driver.”
