Jay Nixon declares state of emergency, activates National Guard ahead of Ferguson decision

Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency Monday in anticipation of possible unrest in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson in anticipation of a grand jury’s decision in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer three months ago.

“Regardless of the outcomes of the federal and state criminal investigations, there is the possibility of expanded unrest,” Nixon said in a statement. “The state of Missouri will be prepared to appropriately respond to any reaction to these announcements.”

Nixon said in the order he directed the Missouri Highway Patrol, St. Louis County Police Department and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to “operate as a Unified Command to protect civil rights” and put the St. Louis County Police Department in charge of security in Ferguson related to protest areas and demonstrations.

“Having the support of the National Guard available will enable local officers to continue to respond promptly to calls for service,” St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Sam Dotson said in a statement.

The St. Louis County prosecutor has said publicly that an announcement of the grand jury’s decision will be made later this month. The United States Department of Justice, which is conducting both civil and criminal investigations of the death of Michael Brown, has not announced when its investigations will be concluded.

Channing Ansley, communications director for the governor, said the timing of the order is simply “the next step in ongoing efforts to plan and be prepared for any contingency, and that means making sure these resources are in place in advance of any announcement.”

The state of emergency will expire in 30 days unless Nixon extends it.

This story was originally published November 17, 2014 at 2:29 PM with the headline "Jay Nixon declares state of emergency, activates National Guard ahead of Ferguson decision."