Activists allege police have opted not to wear nametags in an effort to evade culpability for any wrongdoing during the G-8.
The G-8 Legal Collective -- a group delivering legal services to protest groups during the summit -- filed complaints with Calgary police and RCMP saying the "anonymity" of officers makes it difficult if a protester wants to lodge a complaint regarding interactions with authorities.
"A big white guy with short hair describes a lot of police officers," Sarah Dover of the G-8 Legal Collective said yesterday.
"At what point when I'm getting my head bashed in do I ask the police for his badge number?"
Calgary Police Service Insp. Al Redford bristles at "completely false" suggestions its members are nameless to the public.
Save for some mountain bike unit officers given new uniforms without velcro strips for nametags, a problem which is being fixed, all Calgary cops have nametags.
"Street officers wear nametags on their duty shirt, public order units wear overalls with regimental numbers -- which are unique to each officer -- sewn on to the right breast pocket area," Redford said.
"All officers if asked will give their name and most carry business cards. Calgary police are highly accountable."
G-8 summit security spokesman RCMP Const. Michel Blackburn said "all individual RCMP officers working at the G-8 summit will be wearing visible identification."
Dover said excuses are unacceptable to the approximately 3,000 protesters in downtown Calgary Sunday when "the vast majority of officers on the street were not identified" -- adding she has photographs to prove it.
"This is the largest security operation ever on Canadian soil and nametags didn't occur to them? These guys couldn't get it together enough to get nametags?" said Dover.
NADIA.MOHARIB@CALGARYSUN.COM
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