Awaiting Grand Jury Decision In Ferguson, Gov. Nixon Activates National Guard

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (C) stands during a press conference held to discuss security concerns when the grand jury’s decision in the Michael Brown case is announced on November 11, 2014 in Weldon Springs, Missouri (AFP Photo/Scott Olson)

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard Monday in anticipation of a grand jury decision in the case of Michael Brown. The grand jury will decide whether Darren Wilson, a white police officer with an impeccable record, will be charged in the fatal shooting of the black 18-year-old in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri.

“Quite simply, we must and will be fully prepared,” Nixon said at a news conference on Tuesday. “In the days immediately following Michael Brown’s death, peaceful protests were marred by senseless acts of violence and destruction.”

Nixon also said the National Guard would assist state and local police in the event there is violence and other instances of civil unrest when the grand jury’s decision is announced.

There was no indication that any announcement of a decision is imminent, but there is also no specific date the St. Louis County prosecutor has said that he expects the grand jury to reach a decision in mid-to-late November.

Meanwhile, police officials in Ferguson and other cities across America were bracing Monday for possible violence that mirrored the destruction that took place after the shooting on August 9.

In Los Angeles, a city that saw its share of riots in 1992, which broke out after the acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King, police officials are also gearing up for a decision. They say they’ve been in touch with their counterparts in Missouri, as well as community leaders.

“Naturally, we always pay attention,” said Commander Andrew Smith, a police spokesman. “We saw what happened when there were protests over there and how oftentimes protests spill from one part of the country to another.”

“It’s definitely on our radar,” said Lt. Michael McCarthy, a police spokesman in Boston, where police leaders met privately Wednesday to discuss an appropriate response. “Common sense tells you the timeline is getting close. We’re just trying to prepare in case something does step off, so we are ready to go with it.”

McCarthy said the city’s 2,200 police officers have dealt with the range of public actions, from sports fans spontaneously streaming into the streets following championship victories to protest movements such as the so-called Occupy movement.

“The good thing is that our relationships here with the community are much better than they are around the world,” he said. “People look to us as a model. Boston is not Ferguson.”

Back in Ferguson, Sunday marked the 100th day of demonstrations and they were peaceful. That sadly hasn’t always been the case, however. On October 20, Ferguson protesters outside the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis clashed with fans after the Rams game against the Seattle Seahawks. In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch video posted on PPD, a black female is heard yelling a slew of racially charged expletives at both the police and fans.

“F*** all you white m*****f*****rs,” the woman was heard saying.

She was arrested for assaulting a white man and woman.

Still, residents and officials in the region fear another wave of rioting if the grand jury decides not to indict Wilson.

“This is America. People have a right to express their views and grievances, but they do not have the right to put their fellow citizens or their property at risk,” Nixon said.

Nixon, himself, found himself at the center of criticism during the onset of the violence, first for using the National Guard and militarized police forces and, second, for making comments that inappropriately called for justice for Michael Brown without mentioning Officer Darren Wilson before the facts of the case were heard.