Gang Strike Force officers blow their own cover online

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/45224097.html?elr=KArksD:aDyaEP:kD:aUg:oaEQDUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

One officer's Metro Gang Strike Force affiliation is on classmates.com; another is on a website citing a medal he got for undercover work.

By RANDY FURST, Star Tribune

Last update: May 16, 2009 - 5:56 PM

Earlier this month, police unions filed a lawsuit objecting to the identification of six members of the Metro Gang Strike Force, saying releasing their names was illegal and could endanger them by blowing their cover.

Yet a quick Google search would have revealed that the officers' names and affiliations with the Strike Force or police departments are easily available from a variety of public sources.

One officer's gang Strike Force affiliation is listed on the social networking site classmates.com. Another is cited as a Strike Force member who donated to a social service agency.

A third was mentioned online as the recipient of a medal for undercover police work. A fourth is on the public roster of his police department.

Asked about their names being on public websites, Chris Wachtler, an attorney for the St. Paul Police Federation, a plaintiff in the lawsuit and representative of two of the Strike Force members, said, "I have no comment so long as you intend to print their names in the paper."

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