Citing "the possibility of expanded unrest," Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday declared a state of emergency and prepared to send the Missouri National Guard to help maintain order in the St. Louis region when a grand jury decision is announced in the Michael Brown case.
Nixon's executive order puts the St. Louis County Police Department in charge of security in Ferguson "in areas of protests and acts of civil disobedience, should such activities occur."
The order also establishes a unified law enforcement command consisting of the county police, the St. Louis Police Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol.
"Everything we're doing is being driven by the dual pillars: keeping people safe while allowing protesters to speak," Nixon told reporters during a 30-minute news conference conducted by telephone Monday evening.
The governor declined to provide operational details, such as how many National Guard soldiers will be deployed. His order authorized Stephen Danner, adjutant general of the National Guard, to call portions of the guard into service as needed. The order will expire in 30 days unless extended.
Nixon said his actions didn't signal that he expects violence. Rather, he said his "hope and expectation is that peace will prevail. But I have a responsibility to plan for any contingency that might arise."
The governor said the National Guard will provide security at command posts, fire stations and other locations, and will also take on duties that free up local officers for community policing.
A grand jury has been hearing evidence in the shooting of Brown, 18, who was killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9. The shooting sparked months of protests.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch has said the grand jury's decision whether to charge Wilson is expected in mid- to late November.
Nixon's spokeswoman, Channing Ansley, said the governor had no detailed knowledge of when to expect the grand jury decision, other than McCulloch's public statements.
Ansley said the three agencies in the unified command would operate as "co-equals," the same way they operated during a weekend of resistance Oct. 10-12 that drew protesters from around the country.
"It's consistent with how they've been operating...very effectively in the governor's view," she said.
Ansley said this was not the first time that Nixon had declared a state of emergency before the emergency actually occurred.
"It's been done a number of times in the past, including in advance of the ice storm in 2009 and the blizzard of 2011," she said.
Nixon invoked a broadly worded law that allows him to use the "organized militia" to provide emergency relief "in the event of...actual or threatened public catastrophe creating conditions of distress or hazard to public health and safety...."
State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a vocal critic of Nixon's handling of issues in Ferguson, wasn't happy with the governor's decision. She quickly wrote a letter to President Barack Obama, asking that the federal government take control of any guard units in Ferguson.
"Based on everything I've witnessed here this week I am profoundly concerned about the potentially tragic ramifications of having the state-controlled National Guard descend on Ferguson," wrote Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City. She posted her letter on Twitter.
Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, was withholding judgment on the governor's move. In a written statement, Mittman said: "If the Governor is removing jurisdictional barriers to allow the best trained officers -- those most respectful of constitutional rights -- to have operational control if a response is needed, it is good to have such a plan in place."
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay stressed that the guard troops will be stationed throughout the city of St. Louis in a secondary role to civilian police.
"We do not want people to feel like they have to panic or be afraid," Slay said, saying residents should go about their daily business.
St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said the National Guard soldiers will not be on the front lines interacting with protesters, but will instead serve in a "backfill" role to guard police stations, command posts and help guard shopping centers.
"Visibility is a deterrent, and if there are crimes occurring, (the National Guard) will serve to give us an early warning for the police to respond," Dotson said.
Dotson said the governor's announcement doesn't mean a grand jury decision is imminent.
"All I know is that sometime between the middle and end of the month an announcement will be made," he said. "But you don't snap your fingers and the National Guard appears. There is a process...and it all takes time."
Dotson also noted that police will respond donning their everyday uniforms, and will only wear riot gear should "circumstances warrant it."
Nixon activated the National Guard in August to help quell days of unrest in Ferguson. The troops mainly protected a police staging area at a nearby Target shopping center. In that instance, they didn't enter the city of St. Louis.
Last month, the governor announced plans to name a Ferguson Commission to make recommendations on issues raised by Brown's shooting and the protests that followed. At 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nixon will name the members of the commission and swear them in at the Missouri History Museum, his office said in a statement issued late Monday afternoon.
Earlier Monday, approximately 100 Ferguson activists braved frigid temperatures for a second consecutive day by disrupting lunch-hour traffic in downtown Clayton for about 60 minutes.
The protesters, surrounded by reporters and news crews, united from two staging areas -- Shaw Park and the Forsyth MetroLink station -- to circle the Clayton business district once before ending the demonstration in front of the St. Louis County Justice Center.
The route resulted in blocked traffic at several intersections. Elizabeth Vega, a demonstration organizer, said marchers hoped to send a signal that the vast majority of Ferguson activists are committed to non-violent, peaceful protest.
To drive home their message, the march was led by white activists who warned passers-by that "the protesters are coming! the protesters are coming!"
"We wanted to mock people with a fear of protest," Vega said. "The tension right now is palpable and if we can't laugh then we'll cry."
Christine Byers, Stephen Giegerich and Nicholas J.C. Pistor of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
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