Maybe it already is.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that a former co-worker's husband is a cop and I can appreciate a law enforcement officer wanting to protect his or her family. My friend showed me her resume as an example on how to set up my own and before she handed it to me, she tore off the address part and destroyed that piece of paper before it hit the trash can.

The fear that your family members can be targeted by vengeful criminals is realistic.

That being said, ANY member of the community should be able to take down a badge number and at least be able to speak knowledgably regarding whom they dealt with in the police force and how they were treated.

A cop covering up his or her badge number has covered up any legitimacy for the authority that they claim on behalf of law enforcement. At that point, they become the "Thugs" and their actions are criminal.