Arizona governor vetoes bill shielding names of officers

PHOENIX -- Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed legislation Monday requiring law enforcement agencies to keep the names of officers involved in shootings secret for two months, nixing a bill inspired by last year's events in Ferguson, Missouri, and similar cases around the country.

Ducey said in a lengthy veto letter he sympathized with backers who sought to protect officers. But he said he listened most to police chiefs who told him an arbitrary hold on releasing the names of officers would limit their ability to manage complex community-police relations.

Legislatures around the nation are taking up various pieces of police shooting legislation, including proposals requiring police to wear body cameras or mandating shooting investigations be done by outside agencies. But Arizona is apparently the only state considering new rules for releasing the names of officers, said Ezekiel Edwards, director of the Criminal Law Reform Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Ducey, a Republican, faced pressure to veto the measure from police chiefs, who worried they couldn't manage community relations or stop unfounded rumors about an involved officer.

But police unions supported the bill, saying the two-month delay would give investigations time to play out. They called it a common-sense measure that would ensure officer safety.

The fatal Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown by former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson drew intense criticism and widespread protests last year. Wilson's name was released a week after the shooting.