When should law enforcement agencies identify officers involved in incidents?

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The name of the officer in the Ferguson shooting has not been made public. Officials say it's to protect his safety. Others say that withholding the name is inflaming the situation.

It's been five days since a police officer shot and killed an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. But the identity of the officer who killed Michael Brown remains a mystery.

Officials in Ferguson have refused to release the officer's name, citing safety concerns. But critics of that policy say withholding the officer's identity is only making matters worse.

"Accountability for police officers and police departments is crucial. Knowing the identity of the officers, therefore, is very important," said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law and an expert in Constitutional law.

"All of us who are government employees have to accept that what we're doing is open to the public for scrutiny," said Chemerinsky.

"Let's not rush to judgment," said Jerry Harper, a retired Undersheriff of Los Angeles County.

Harper retired as an undersheriff after almost 40 years on the force. He says releasing officers' names can pose real risks.

"Not only do you have the threat to the officer, but you have potentially the threat of serious harm to the family," said Harper. "And of course the family, regardless of whether the officer is ever found guilty or at fault in the shooting, the family is innocent."

The California Supreme Court ruled in May that agencies should release the names of officers involved in on-duty shootings. But the court stopped short of saying exactly when the names should be disclosed.

A case in point: a videotaped beating that happened on a Los Angeles freeway back in July. The California Highway Patrol has not identified the patrolman seen beating a homeless woman who had wandered onto the interstate. The CHP says the full investigation could take several weeks.

"I'm troubled by this recent instance in California, and I don't think it's consistent with the California Supreme Court decision," said Chemerinsky.

But Harper says waiting can allow calmer heads to prevail.

"It's the timing of that information that could cause even more problems, and so they have to be extremely careful about that," said Harper.

Meanwhile, the "hacktivist" group Anonymous released a name on Thursday that they say is the Ferguson police officer in question. But the police chief there says they got the wrong guy.