Mike Isaacson and Jeff Light (Photo by coolrevolution.net)

Two police officers refused to provide names and badge numbers to protestors at the Occupy Our Homes action Monday at the Chase Bank offices on I Street. Fortunately for the protestors, they only had to cross 14th St. to reach the building where they could file a complaint.

The two police officers were wearing jackets clearly marked “MPD” (Metropolitan Police Deparment) but no badges.  They refused to identify themselves when confronted. One was video-taping the protest.

Mike Isaacson filed the complaint along with three witnesses in consultation with Occupy DC counsel Jeff Light.

One of the witnesses, Ryan Lash, explained why he felt identifying the officers and reporting their refusal was important, “It’s an issue of personal safety,” he said, citing incidents of impersonation by police.

Jeff Light agreed. Without identifying information, he said, there’s no way to hold someone accountable. “Police officers often test what they can get away with,” he added.