JEFFERSON CITY • The Missouri House has approved tougher penalties for those who harm police officers, sparking a debate over what the Legislature has done — or failed to do — in response to the unrest in Ferguson.

The proposal in question expands the heightened punishment for crimes such as voluntary manslaughter, trespassing and rioting. The House passed it last week.

Supporters argue that the stricter charges — a priority for Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican in his first year as the state’s chief executive — send a message of support to law enforcement who feel they can’t proactively police.

Conversation on the House floor last week also included the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in 2014. Wilson was not charged, but the shooting triggered months of protests and a national debate over racially biased policing.

It also triggered a “Ferguson effect,” Greitens has argued, that makes it difficult to recruit police officers to work in Missouri.

Sponsoring Rep. Marsha Haefner, R-Oakville, said she was motivated to take action when she heard St. Louis County police officers say their families had being threatened or their homes vandalized because of their profession.