VALHALLA, N.Y. (AP)  -- A panel formed after Westchester County police shot and killed an off-duty officer from another force is recommending that police departments statewide work together on rules for handling such confrontations.

1010 WINS AUDIO: Al Jones Reports

The panel's 34-page report came Tuesday, nearly four months after Mount Vernon Officer Christopher Ridley was gunned down by county police in White Plains.

Ridley was trying to make an arrest on a downtown street. He apparently did not identify himself as a policeman to the other officers and did not obey their orders to drop his weapon.

The panel also said police recruits should take part in role-playing exercises involving such off-duty confrontations, and trainers should be of various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Ridley was black, as is one of the four county officers.