Today we reported on a reversal by the Police Department, reinstating the decades-long policy of naming officers who shoot or kill. Police quietly began withholding the names - possibly in violation of state law - in late 2008, and in January 2009 we got them to confirm that it was in fact a policy shift. To many, it wasn't so much about knowing any individual officer's name, but the symbolism of a department that was seeking to rebuild trust with the community seemingly on a whim deciding to restrict the information. They hit plenty of stumbling blocks, including the admission that none of the 23 threats against police that they had used to justify the change were related to police shootings. A cat-and-mouse game ensued, redacting names from public documents, or writing only an officer's badge number in charging documents.

Policies vary from city to city, but all Maryland departments release the names and St. Louis police just reversed their policy and no longer withhold them. "There will be times when, to protect cases or lives, the department will withhold information that should be available to the public. But, those occasions should be rare," said St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.

So what caused yesterday's change of heart? The department says publicly that they were just taking their time to weigh opinions from various stakeholders. But that doesn't hold much water considering the Fraternal Order of Police and the incoming mayor weren't even given a heads up until the decision had been made. It probably has more to do with Stephanie Rawlings-Blake about to take over as mayor - of course, we reminded everyone on this blog earlier this month that Rawlings-Blake was against the police department's decision last year to withhold the names, though aides told me that as a remedy she was leaning towards posting investigative documents online and keeping the names restricted. Will this work as a pre-emptive strike by the police department or will she push her idea?