The Los Angeles Police Department wants BB guns and imitation firearms to look a lot less like the real thing.

In a memo set for review Tuesday by members of the Police Commission, police Chief Charlie Beck is asking for a new city ordinance that would require handgun-style BB guns and imitation weapons to be brightly colored.

Capt. William Hart says the move follows two police shootings last year where the suspect was seen with what turned out to be a BB or imitation gun.

If approved, the new ordinance would outlaw the sale of black or gray BB guns and replicas that look like pistols or revolvers and instead mandate they be bright pink, yellow, orange or other vivid colors.