With the Ferguson grand jury announcement imminent, National Guard units and police are making sure law and order is kept in the city. Last summer, the city was marred by protests over the shooting death of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson.
Gov. Jay Nixon recently declared a state of emergency in Ferguson ahead of the grand jury report; so it appears as if the lights are on, but nobody’s home.
In a press call with reporters this week, Matt Sledge, a reporter from the Huffington Post, asked Gov. Jay Nixon “Does the buck ultimately stop with you when it comes to how any protests are policed?”
“Um, we’re, um, I, you know, it, uh, our goal here is to, you know, keep the peace, and allow all voices to, uh, to be heard,” said Nixon. “I’d prefer not to be a commentator on it.”
When asked what official or agency would be in charge of response, Nixon couldn't give an answer.
“Well, I mean, it uh, clearly… (4-5 seconds of dead air) I feel good about the… we worked hard to establish unified command, to outline our responsibilities now with the additional assets provided by my order today of the Missouri National Guard we have worked through, uh, a number of, uh, operational issues the folks have and, uh, I’ll only say, uh, our efforts today are on top of a lot of last hundred days to make sure we’re prepared for any contingency.”
Curtis Kalin of CNSNews.com commented on this rather brain dead response, saying:
Suffice it to say, Nixon doesn’t seem to think he is in charge of the very plan he crafted and codified in executive order. Furthermore, he was unable to tell anyone who is in charge. The situation in Ferguson will likely be chaotic. The blundering leadership of Missouri’s governor will surely exacerbate that chaos.
Let’s hope not. The grand jury decision will be delivered in the coming days.