Courtesy of AP Photo/ABC NewsMissouri Governor Jay Nixon has deployed the National Guard in hopes of settling the unrest and violence in Ferguson following the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
“Given these deliberate, coordinated and intensifying violent attacks on lives and property in Ferguson, I am directing the highly capable men and women of the Missouri National Guard to assist [Missouri State Highway Patrol] Col. Ron Replogle and the Unified Command in restoring peace and order to this community,” he said in a statement on Monday (August 18).
The announcement came after arguably the most violent night of the protests.
However, mere hours after they arrived, the clashes continued between the protesters and the police force. According to police officials, 31 people were arrested, including a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, and six people–two civilians, four officers–were injured by heavy gunfire from a small group of protesters.
Other protesters threw bottles at police, but reports are saying that most of the protests were peaceful and subdued, and residents are insisting that its visitors from out of town who are looking to stir up trouble.
President Obama has told Governor Nixon that use of the National Guard should be limited, and that he would be watching their involvement.
Analysts are hoping that the National Guard will be more of a unified police force, rather than the disjointed efforts of the Ferguson and St. Louis police force.
“We overpoliced for a few days, and then we completely underpoliced,” U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill told MSNBC.
Another hope is that bringing in the National Guard would move the police away from the conflict, helping to calm down the protests, since their main issue is with the police’s violence.
What do you think of the governor’s actions? Will this help stop the violence in Ferguson?
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