Seattle Chief Best sends directive on mourning band on badges

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best sent a directive to the department on Thursday ordering all officers to have their badge numbers prominently displayed.

The directive comes on day seven of protesting in downtown Seattle. Mayor Durkan mentioned on the steps of City Hall Wednesday that many of the complaints to SPD were that officers’ badge numbers were hidden due to the mourning band placed on badges.

In part, Chief Best’s directive:

Mourning bands have deep meaning in law enforcement and are a long-standing way of honoring those who are killed in the line of duty. However, some of the public’s perception is that it is a way of officers to possibly hide their identity, even though name tags are prominently displayed on the outer most clothing. The Department must strike a balance between honoring officers who are killed in the line of duty and our responsibility to maintain the public’s trust.

Best said that the mourning band must be placed horizontally so that an officer’s badge number is not obscured. She clarified that the mourning badges “purchased through the Seattle Police Foundation that already have the serial number displayed.”

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