JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri’s top law enforcer says Ferguson’s police department is among 17 statewide that illegally missed a deadline for submitting to his office racial data relating to traffic stops.

Attorney General Chris Koster says those police agencies that missed the March 1 deadline set by Missouri law risk having state funding withheld.

Missouri’s attorney general uses the data from the state’s 699 police agencies to compile a yearly report by June 1 about any racial disparities among municipalities when it comes to traffic stops.

Koster says his office since last October has sent four written notices to the 17 police agencies that ultimately missed the deadline, reminding them of their filing obligations by law.

Messages seeking comment Tuesday from a Ferguson city spokesman were not immediately returned.