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Ahead of Ferguson anniversary, Nixon preps for law enforcement announcement

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Jay Nixon will crisscross the state tomorrow for an announcement on police training and licensing, his office said in a statement.

Nixon will visit law enforcement training centers in Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield to make an announcement regarding the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST). POST is responsible for establishing “standards for peace officer basic training, continuing education of officers, as well as for instructors and law enforcement training academies in Missouri.”

The announcement comes just days before planned events in the St. Louis area commemorating the one year anniversary of the shooting death of Michael Brown by then-Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, which sparked waves of protests and unrest for months in St. Louis and placed the state in an international spotlight during a debate about police tactics.

Earlier this year, Missouri lawmakers weighed dozens of bills directly related to the unrest in Ferguson. Urban Democrats filed many of the bills, a large number of which saw little progress, including legislation mandating the use of body cameras for all officers.

But lawmakers ultimately did advance Senate Bill 5, a sweeping municipal court reform measure that limits the amount of revenue cities may collect through traffic fines and court fees and creates new minimum service standards all municipalities must meet.

Lawmakers also spent significant time near the end of the legislative session debating a measure changing the standards by which Missouri officers may use deadly force. Missouri is currently the only state in the country whose state law does not match federal standards for killing an unarmed suspect.

The bill ultimately passed the senate but was soon gutted in the final days of the session in the House.

Nixon will make announcements tomorrow from the Kansas City Police Department, the St. Louis Police Academy and the Springfield Regional Police and Fire Training Center.