ST. LOUIS (AP) Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is reaching out to black faith leaders in St. Louis ahead of a judge’s ruling in a former police officer’s murder trial, saying the time for dialogue is now.

The Republican governor met Monday with several dozen people at an AME church. He said before the private meeting that elected leaders too often begin dialogue too late.

Former St. Louis officer Jason Stockley’s trial ended last month, but Judge Timothy Wilson has yet to rule. Activists have threatened civil disobedience that could include shutting down highways, airports or businesses if Stockley is acquitted in the 2011 death of Anthony Lamar Smith.

The shooting of a black suspect by a white officer reignited racial tensions in a region still healing from the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.