Not in Milford.

Police Chief Keith Mello has refused — despite repeated requests — to release the names of police officers involved in two recent cases because, he said, the department works as a team and it wouldn't be appropriate to single out individual officers.

Most notably, Mello has refused to release the names of officers involved in two recent cases in which stun guns were used, including one incident last month in which a Stratford man later died of cocaine toxicity five hours after being shot with the "non-lethal" device.

Milford officers' names are released to the public only when state officials are investigating an officer for the use of deadly physical force, Mello said. The state's attorney's office in not investigating the Nicholas Brown case, which was ruled an accidental death.

"We don't believe in promoting individuals," Mello said. "We believe in promoting the team."

Representatives of other police departments in the region, however, said releasing the names of officers involved in making an arrest or being investigated for the use of deadly force is a common and routine procedure.

Lt. J. Paul Vance, a spokesman for the State Police, said trooper's names are typically included in press releases as the arresting officer in the case.

"There's no reason not to," he said. "I don't see any reason for withholding that information."

He added that in cases where an officer is being investigated for deadly force, the officer's name is withheld for 24 hours, as a courtesy for the officer's family, before being released to the public. The State Police handle most investigations of deadly physical force on the local level.

Lt. Michael Walsh, a spokesman for the Fairfield Police Department, said they don't have a specific policy on releasing officer's names to the public, although he is usually "liberal" in releasing such information "especially when it lauds the officer for his performance."

Stratford Police Department spokesman Capt. Harvey Maxwell said while all officer's "work together toward a common goal," he doesn't see any reason to withhold an officer's name. Lt. James Viadero, Bridgeport police spokesman, said the department only withholds names in cases where disclosure would affect an investigation. In Bridgeport, there have been several police-related shootings over the years, and the officers involved in these incidents have been promptly identified by the department, as have those officers whose actions resulted in serious physical injury to a suspect.

For example, in September, Bridgeport authorities provided — within a day — the name of an officer who shot a suspect during a scuffle on the roof of a house. The police identified the officer, Fernando Oquendo, even though the suspect survived and the state's attorney's office did not investigate.

Tom Hennick, the public education officer for the state Freedom of Information Commission, said the names of police officers are public information that should be released. He added that while state law addresses only the release of reports on police incidents, those are typically public information and should include an officer's name.

"There's no reason why an officer's name shouldn't be released," he said.

Hennick added that one of the only reasons for not providing an officer's name to the public is if the information would compromise an investigation.

"Just because a department may have an internal investigation doesn't mean that exemption automatically applies," he said. "I suspect Milford is in the minority."

Still, the Milford policy appears to be a departure from the department's previous practice. In the 1990s, the department's Crime Prevention Unit issued daily press releases that included the names of arresting officers involved in such minor cases as motor vehicle stops, as well as serious felony arrests.

A cursory review of those releases dating back to 2000 shows the Milford police provided officers names to the news media up until January 2001; the next month the policy was apparently changed.

Ken Fellenbaum, chairman of the Board of Police Commissioners, said the policy of not identifying officers wouldn't fall under the board's jurisdiction because it's an operational matter.

"It's getting into the department's operations and the commission would be reticent to do that," he said. "The chief is the administrative officer, and the information he chooses to give out and when has to be at his discretion."

Despite several requests, Mello has refused to release the names of the officer or officers who used a sun gun to subdue Brown, of Stratford, who died while in police custody Oct. 19. He cited an unfinished internal investigation into the matter as his reason for withholding the information.

Brown, 24, died about five hours after being shot twice with a stun gun in the parking lot of the Red Roof Inn on Rowe Avenue. Officials with the state medical examiner's office Wednesday said Brown died because of cocaine toxicity and ruled the death an accident.