Ex-NYC Chief Kelly: Ferguson PD Dropped the Ball From Beginning

Now-former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson made the correct decision to step down immediately, former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says, but there are still several steps needed to restore order to the troubled community.

"Realistically, he couldn't patrol those streets again," Kelly told ABC "This Week" co-host Martha Raddatz Sunday. "We'll see if it has any calming effect on the situation, but that remains to be seen."

However, there are several lessons that should be learned from the shooting, the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, and the aftermath in Ferguson.

"I would like to sort of separate the incident itself from what happened immediately after the incident and there are lots of lessons for policing, or what people say is this was a major league event happening in the small town," said Kelly. "[They] simply didn't have the resources to cope."

But it may not have been possible for Wilson to just shoot to wound, not kill Brown, said Kelly.

"The notion that somehow you can shoot to wound just simply, you know, doesn't work," said the veteran police officer. "You train police officers to shoot for mass. You train them to shoot to stop. The only way you can, well, wound somebody or shoot the weapon out of the hands is in the movies. Police only hit their targets 20% of the time."

Kelly said he also believes the Ferguson Police Department failed when it did not release information quickly about the shooting, a "rule one" mistake.

"Something happens, you give the public what you have and say, hey, we don't have this, we don't have that," said Kelly. "It was a long delay in putting information out."

Further, it was a mistake to allow Brown's body to lie in the street for four hours, and the crime scene unit's delay in responding to the shooting, taking an hour and 15 minutes to arrive, was also an error, said Kelly.

There is "no question" that it will be difficult for police officers to regain a sense of trust in the Ferguson community, said Kelly, and changes will have to be made, including diversifying the police department.

"I would hope that the Justice Department is going to contribute or Homeland Security will contribute some money to this effort, but you can't have a city that is two-thirds African-American, policed by a department of 53 police officers, where only three of them are a minority," said Kelly. "It makes no sense and I think it really will refocus law enforcement on the issue of diversity."

Related Stories:

• Darren Wilson to ABC News: I Have Clear Conscience
• 13 Facts About Ferguson the Media Will Never Tell You