Nixon signs deadly force bill, new sentencing guidelines

JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Wednesday signed a bill that brings Missouri’s law on deadly force into compliance with a Supreme Court ruling from more than 30 years ago.

Nixon also signed measures that create new sentencing guidelines for minors convicted of first-degree murder and prohibit law enforcement agencies from requiring employees to issue a certain number of traffic citations.

The deadly force legislation brings state law into accord with a 1985 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that held that police may not shoot at a fleeing person unless the officer reasonably believes that the individual poses a significant physical danger to the officer or others in the community.

Missouri’s law did not previously specify that an officer must believe the fleeing suspect is dangerous. The discrepancy gained attention after the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson. The grand jury considering whether to indict the officer initially received Missouri’s outdated law before getting updated guidelines.

Read more: http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/missouri/2016/07/13/nixon-signs-deadly-force-bill-new-sentencing-guidelines/87067736/