Should names of police officers involved in shootings be released?

No, but if the officer's name is released, the journalist's name should be released as well. Officer's address, journalist's same. Maybe then the journalist will have some perspective on just how much the public "needs" to know.

I believe that the name of the department involved and the outcome of the event should be enough. If it were proven that the officer was negligent then yes. When I handled a narcotics dog, we were assisting a department about an hour away from my home. Several arrest were made, and the next day we were on the front page of the local newspaper. They gave our names and where we worked. The only thing they forgot was our phone number and address. Several weeks later I passed through the town again, and a family member of one guys that was arrested that evening went off on me in a convenience store. Too much info is definitely a bad thing.

It's a shame when you have police departments and whomever is in the media's spotlight scrambling to get themselves together to protect their identity or character. They are more focused on getting things straightened out before the media gets to it rather than focusing on the crime to be solved or issue at hand. The media is always like "The public deserves to know." We all know that is a load of foolishness. Their ratings is what's important to them. It's gotten to the point that the media will put a citizen's life in danger by exposing them and they would not care one bit.