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Police name tags not helpful, official says
Thursday, August 17, 2000
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
Seattle police officers should be identifiable, but requiring them to wear name tags on their outermost garments could have unintended consequences, Seattle Police chief-of-staff Clark Kimerer told a City Council committee yesterday.
Police department policy already requires that officers sew name tags on their uniforms and give their name and badge number when asked.
A law proposed by City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck would require police, except for undercover officers, to wear tags with their first and last names on their outermost garments.
They also would have to give their name and serial number when asked.
The proposal is the first of a number of reforms expected to come out of last fall's riotous World Trade Organization conference.
Some WTO protesters said officers avoided excessive-force complaints because their names were hidden.
Kimerer said the proposal raises a good point. But he said the Council should carefully consider if converting a department policy into a city law would do unintended harm.
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