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Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ramps up the National Guard presence to 2,200 troops and sets in motion a plan on how they will control the unacceptable violence. VPC
National Guard troops secured the police station in Ferguson, Mo., on Nov. 25, 2014, a day after violent protests and looting followed a grand jury decision to not indict the officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown in August.(Photo: Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images)
FERGUSON, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ramped up the the presence of the National Guard in Ferguson and the St. Louis area Tuesday, declaring that the violence and arson of the night before "cannot be repeated."
"Lives and property must be protected. This community deserves to have peace," Nixon said at an afternoon news conference. "We will provide safety and security to this region."
He said "criminals intent on lawlessness and destruction terrorized this community," adding, "We must do better and we will."
His announcement came an hour after Ferguson's mayor said the National Guard deployed too late Monday to prevent destruction after a grand jury declined to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the August shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
The National Guard didn't deploy quickly enough to prevent violence and arson in the wake of a grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson, Ferguson's mayor said. He called the delay "deeply concerning." VPC
The Guard presence will be "ramped up significantly" Tuesday night, Nixon said. More than 2,200 soldiers would be in the area, with hundreds more Guard troops stationed throughout Ferguson to protect homes and businesses.
On Monday, as more than a dozen buildings burned, some 700 soldiers in the area deployed to about 100 key locations, he said.
"I am deeply saddened for the people of Ferguson who woke up this morning to see parts of their community in ruins. I just came from West Florissant, and it's a heart-breaking sight. Seniors afraid to leave the house. School canceled. Kids scared to go outside and play," the governor said.
"What they've gone through is unacceptable. No one should have to live like this. No one deserves this."
When asked why more guardsmen weren't deployed last night and especially in front of businesses that people looted, Nixon said he would not go into "operational" details.
Guardsmen will be on West Florissant Avenue, a main thoroughfare in Ferguson where people burned and looted several businesses.
Mayor James Knowles called the delay Monday evening "deeply concerning." He said the Guard troops, who were under the supervision of the unified command, were available but were not deployed when city officials asked.
In anticipation of more unrest, Florissant Road was crowded with crews boarding up businesses Tuesday afternoon.
Baek Lee took stock of his losses at his shop, Beauty World, which was ravaged by looters and set partially on fire. The store is just a stone's throw from the police station, and he didn't board up the store ahead of the announcement because of the cost.
"I couldn't afford it and I thought I should be okay since we are close to the police station," said Lee, as a crew covered broken windows with wood. He and other shopkeepers were embraced by customers who stopped by and offered condolences.
Shahieda Hudson, of St. Louis, brought her daughter, niece and nephew to help clean up an antique store that was ravaged by fire. "I wanted them to feel they were important members of this city, and that they can share their voice in a productive way," she said.
Knowles thanked firefighters and local and state police for trying to save more than a dozen businesses that were vandalized or torched.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said there were 21 fires and 61 arrests, 32 for burglary. Three officers were injured in the mayhem, which was spread over 4 square miles.
He said it was unclear whether a body found near Ferguson apartments was related to unrest.
Gunfire forced fire trucks to retreat from a building in flames, one of more than a dozen businesses that burned, he said. Earlier, he said he had heard at least 150 gunshots, none fired by police.
"Our community not only needs to be safe but it needs to feel safe," he said.
The superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Col. Ronald Replogle, called Monday night "a disaster" and vowed that Tuesday night would be different.
Protests continued throughout the afternoon. Following a rally outside the federal courthouse in downtown St. Louis, several hundred demonstrators walked onto Interstate 44, briefly blocking all traffic near the Edward Jones Dome. Police said some protesters threw objects at police.
Earlier in the day, the lawyer representing Brown's family blasted the prosecutor whose grand jury declined to charge the white officer in the Aug. 9 shooting death of the unarmed, black teen.
Attorney Benjamin Crump speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, in St. Louis County, Mo.(Photo: Jeff Roberson, AP)
St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced Monday night that the grand jury of nine whites and three blacks, who met on 25 days over three months, had determined Wilson, 28, should face no charges.
"We saw how completely unfair this process was," lawyer Benjamin Crump said Tuesday. "We object as publicly and loudly as we can on behalf of Michael Brown Jr.'s family that this process is broken. The process should be indicted."
Crump said Wilson's testimony doesn't fit his injuries and other physical evidence. Crump accused McCulloch of defending Wilson rather than prosecuting him — of failing to put his "best case" before the grand jury.
"Why change the rules when it is our children (of color) dead on the ground?" Crump said.
Late Monday, McCulloch released more than 1,000 pages of documents and testimony from the grand jury proceedings. That included testimony from Wilson, who said Brown attacked him in the patrol car, forcing him to shoot. Witnesses accounts differed on whether Brown's hands were raised, moments later, when Wilson fired the fatal shots on a Ferguson street, McCulloch said.
He stood by the grand jury's decision. "They are the only people that have heard and examined every witness and every piece of evidence," McCulloch said.
The announcement touched off a protest that, at its furious peak, saw demonstrators taunting police, shattering windows and setting fire to two police cars.
Scores of police officers, armed with riot gear, dispersed hundreds of protesters with volleys of tear gas, pepper spray and bean bags. The area looked like a war zone Tuesday, with looted and burned out stores sitting amid broken glass and trash.
"I'm disappointed," Belmar said, adding that it would have taken "10,000" officers to control the mayhem. "What I've seen tonight is probably worse than the worst night we had in August."
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar expresses his disappointment in the minimal amount of peaceful protesters and the extreme measures that protesters took. VPC
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Wilson remains on administrative leave, the mayor said at his news conference. He reportedly had been negotiating his departure from the force before the grand jury's decision, but indicated he might change his mind if the grand jury cleared him.
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Wilson's legal problems may not be over yet. The Justice Department is investigating possible civil rights violations, and Brown's family could file a wrongful-death suit. Crump said the problem is far more pervasive than Ferguson.
"All across America, young people of color are being killed by police officers," Crump said. "And local prosecutors are putting together these 'unbiased' grand juries that continue to yield the same results."
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Cornell William Brooks, NAACP President, said his group "stands with citizens and communities who are deeply disappointed that the grand jury did not indict Darren Wilson."
Brooks said the NAACP remains committed to continuing the fight against racial profiling, police brutality and the militarization of local authorities.
"The death of Michael Brown and actions by the Ferguson Police Department is a distressing symptom of the untested and overaggressive policing culture that has become commonplace in communities of color all across the country," Brown said.
Wilson's lawyers issued a statement praising the grand jury's decision and saying the officer is grateful to his supporters.
"Law enforcement personnel must frequently make split-second and difficult decisions," the lawyers wrote. "Officer Wilson followed his training and followed the law."
A Little Caesars Pizza restaurant was set on fire by protesters Monday night in Ferguson, Missouri in response to the grand jury announcement to not indict officer Darren Wilson. VPC
Contributing: Aamer Madhani in Ferguson.
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