National

Missouri Governor Activates National Guard

Monday, November 17, 2014 10:41 pm | 2 Minute Read

A demonstrator blocks a street intersection Monday in Clayton, Missouri, during a protest over the shooting death of Michael Brown. Clayton is where the prosecutor's office is located in the case. Several dozen demonstrators took to the streets in Clayton, where a grand jury is determining whether to file criminal charges against the white police officer who shot and killed Brown this past August. (REUTERS/Jim Young) — A demonstrator blocks a street intersection Monday in Clayton, Missouri, during a protest over the shooting death of Michael Brown. Clayton is where the prosecutor’s office is located in the case. Several dozen demonstrators took to the streets in Clayton, where a grand jury is determining whether to file criminal charges against the white police officer who shot and killed Brown this past August. (REUTERS/Jim Young)

Bob McCarty and his son, Sam McCarty, place plywood over the windows of their business, Painted Effects, as they prepare to try to protect it from any violent reaction to the grand jury decision on Monday in Ferguson, Missouri. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency Monday and activated the National Guard ahead of a grand jury decision about whether a white police officer will be charged in the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.

Nixon said the National Guard would assist state and local police in case the grand jury’s decision leads to a resurgence of the civil unrest that occurred in the days immediately after the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.

“All people in the St. Louis region deserve to feel safe in their communities and to make their voices heard without fear of violence or intimidation,” Nixon said in a written statement.

There is no specific date for a grand jury decision to be revealed, and Nixon gave no indication that an announcement is imminent. But St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch has said that he expects the grand jury to reach a decision in mid-to-late November.

The U.S. Justice Department, which is conducting a separate investigation, has not said when its work will be completed.

Brown’s shooting stirred long-simmering racial tensions in the St. Louis suburb, where two-thirds of the residents are black but the police force is almost entirely white. Rioting and looting a day after the shooting led police to respond to subsequent protests with a heavily armored presence that was widely criticized for continuing to escalate tensions.

The governor did not indicate how many National Guard troops would be mobilized, instead leaving it to the state adjutant general to determine. Nixon said the National Guard would be available to carry out any requests made through the Highway Patrol to “protect life and property” and support local authorities.

This article appeared in print on page 1 of the November 18th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.