Governor Jay Nixon activated the Missouri National Guard in anticipation of unrest when a grand jury decides whether to indict a white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager.The violence in Ferguson last time did not come from the protesters. It came from the cops.
Nixon declared a state of emergency and created a “unified command” of police agencies in preparation for the decision, due this month in the slaying of 18-year-old Michael Brown of Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to plan and be prepared for any contingency, it is necessary to have these resources in place in advance of any announcement,” Nixon, a 58-year-old Democrat, said yesterday in a statement. “Public safety demands that we are fully prepared.”
The Ferguson, and the other local and county police forces participating, rioted.
If Nixon wants to do the right thing, he needs to take those Guard troops, and use them to keep the local police in their barracks.
If he is not willing to do so, then Obama should federalize the guard, and lock down the cops.
A lot of meaningless violence would be prevented.
*But I repeat myself.
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