The Huffington Post | By Ashley Alman Email Posted: 11/17/2014 3:32 pm EST
Gov. Jay Nixon (D) issued an executive order on Monday declaring a state of emergency in Missouri as the nation awaits a grand jury decision in the case of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
Citing "periods of unrest" in the city of Ferguson and other places in the St. Louis area following Brown's Aug. 9 death, Nixon announced the executive order as a measure to protect the citizens and businesses of Missouri from "violence and damage."
"I further direct the Missouri State Highway Patrol together with the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to operate as a Unified Command to protect civil rights and ensure public safety in the City of Ferguson and the St. Louis region," Nixon wrote in the order, noting that citizens reserve their right to assemble peacefully.
Protesters have already begun demonstrating throughout Ferguson, St. Louis and the surrounding areas, as the grand jury's decision on whether to indict Wilson could come at any moment. On Monday, a group of protesters gathered in Clayton, where the grand jury is deliberating. Othersstaged a "die-in" in University City, lying down on the street and pretending to have been shot. more
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