Gov. Jay Nixon said he is prepared to activate the National Guard if “violence” erupts after the grand jury delivers its decision in the case of Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who shot and killed unarmed teen Michael Brown Jr. on Aug. 9.
“Violence will not be tolerated,” Nixon said at a press conference held Tuesday, November 11 at the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop C headquarters in St. Charles County.
“The vast majority of people who want to speak want to do so in a peaceful fashion, and it’s our job to make sure those voices are heard. Folks who are here to disrupt illegally will be dealt with quickly and efficiently.”
The grand jury is expected to release its decision no earlier than Nov. 15 and sometime this month. St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch deferred the decision on whether or not to indict Wilson in Brown’s death to the previously empaneled grand jury, which has been reviewing evidence since Aug. 20.
Nixon said officers from three law enforcement agencies – the St. Louis County Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department – will operate as a “unified command to protect the public.”
Nixon would not talk about operation specifics, including use of tear gas and checkpoints in neighborhoods. However, he said, “As you move forward, the largest effort will be to communicate openly and directly” with the public.
When asked if he is concerned that the community will see bringing in the National Guard as a “militarized approach,” Nixon said he believes their recent efforts in officer training and community outreach will help “minimize the response.”
More than 1,000 law enforcement officers have received more than 5,000 hours of additional training, including on “constitutional issues,” he said.
However, in response to a question, Nixon said the National Guard has not cross-trained with area police agencies. Also, Nixon said police officers would be reporting to St. Louis “from all over the state,” with no guarantee that any of those officers have been trained in handling civil disobedience.
“Safety and speech” are the priorities, he said. However, “If folks cross that safety line on property or on person, we will use full power of law to keep the peace,” he said.
One reporter asked if Nixon plans to implement the “rules of engagement” that the Don’t Shoot Coalition proposed. The coalition represents a group of 50 local advocacy organizations that formed in the wake of Brown’s shooting. Those rules included giving the community 48 hours notice before the grand jury announces its decision and police wearing the minimally required crowd-control equipment. Nixon merely said, “They have been a voice that has been heard.”
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar was asked if he would commit to honoring the safe spaces, which the coalition said it would establish in protest “hot spots” to give protestors places to rest, eat and obtain social services, such as counseling. In the rules of engagement, the coalition asked police not to barricade or intimidate those seeking refuge.
Belmar said that the three agencies have talked about that “in detail” the last few days.
“We honor that all the time,” Belmar said. “It’s no different than your home or business.”
He said they would only enter the safe spaces if someone calls the police, if there are extraordinary circumstances or if there is a search warrant. He said he could not commit to refraining from entering the spaces.
In August, police entered Greater St. Mark Family Church in Ferguson, which was being used as a protestor safe space – where protestors could get water, first aid, and supplies to combat tear gas exposure.
Ferguson Police essentially shut down the operation, saying that people were sleeping there and it was a violation of occupancy policy. Clergy said people were not sleeping there. Police allegedly also confiscated the supplies to tend to tear gas exposure.
Tory Russell, a young leader in the protest movement and co-founder of Hands Up United, attended the press conference and asked Belmar to speak about police “violating” previous safe spaces in August.
Belmar briefly responded that the spaces “were entered by police officers but were not violated.”
When asked about agreeing to the coalition’s rules of engagement, Belmar said, “at a glance” he believed the coalition and police “will be on the same side” on most of the points raised.
Coalition leaders announced their proposed rules of engagement at a Nov. 5 press conference and urged police to agree.
“We are providing a number of supports to promote a peaceful response, but nothing will make a difference unless the police do their part by giving protesters adequate space,” said Don’t Shoot co-chair Michael T. McPhearson, executive director of Veterans For Peace. “That’s the key to peaceful outcomes.”
Advance notice of the grand jury’s announcement will help them keep things nonviolent, McPhearson said, as well as help local families to prepare accordingly.
The group repeatedly stressed that throughout the protests since Brown’s shooting death, the actions have largely remained peaceful.
“For nearly three months protest leaders have maintained the peace, with the only real incidents of conflict resulting solely from police engagement,” said Montague Simmons, chair of Organization for Black Struggle.
Simmons said he is concerned to hear plans that police are buying riot gear in anticipation for the grand jury decision.
“The police are militarizing, preparing to make war on the very people they are supposed to be protecting,” Simmons said. “Public officials are allowing leaks of confidential proceedings and warning county employees to not join in constitutionally protected First Amendment activities.”
Organizer and Don’t Shoot member Damon Davis said he feels police have nurtured the feeling of mistrust that residents hold.
“Since the day they left Michael Brown’s body in the street for more than four hours, the government has failed to answer the cries of the public time and again,” Davis said. “There has been no accountability or transparency.”
When the grand jury’s verdict is revealed, the coalition encourages people to gather at the St. Louis County Department of Justice, 100 S. Central Ave. in Clayton or across from the Ferguson Police Department, 222 S. Florissant Road.
Follow this reporter on Twitter @rebeccarivas.
