Missouri AG announces urban policing workshop

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's top prosecutor has announced a workshop aimed at boosting the number of minority law enforcement officers after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white police officer drew attention to the issue.

Attorney General Chris Koster announced Sunday that the two-day event is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1 in St. Louis and Oct. 2 in Kansas City. Koster says he will invite police, school and other community leaders to share ideas.

In the St. Louis suburb where the shooting happened, nearly 70 percent of residents are African-American. But only a handful of Ferguson police officers are black.

Koster says that ensuring law enforcement agencies more accurately reflect the diversity of the communities they serve is one way to improve communication and respect.