Koster urges changes to deadly force law

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's attorney general proposed Friday it be illegal for police to use deadly force unless a suspect committed a violent felony or poses a serious threat to others, as part of recommendations responding to the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri.

Attorney General Chris Koster also recommended a new scholarship program to promote diversity in law enforcement, that police departments be required to report data on the race of their employees and the formation of a task force to review state traffic stop data. Most of his recommendations require legislative action.

The proposals stem from panel discussions held last fall in St. Louis and Kansas City following the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is white. A grand jury Nov. 24 declined to charge Wilson with a crime.

The shooting and grand jury announcement both triggered protests, some of which turned violent.

"This is one way the frustration expressed on the streets of Missouri's urban areas can bring positive change in the policing of our communities," Koster said in a written statement accompanying his report.