State of emergency expires in Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said the state of emergency he issued Nov. 17 ahead of the grand jury announcement on whether to indict a white police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black teen will expire Wednesday.

Nixon signed the executive order enabling the Missouri National Guard to be activated ahead of the announcement that former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson would not be charged in the death of Michael Brown. Wilson shot Brown on Aug. 9, sparking several nights of unrest in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

The executive order put the guard in place for the unrest that erupted in Ferguson and surrounding areas when the grand jury decision was announced Nov. 24.

The emergency order, which was in effect for 30 days, instructed St. Louis County Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol and St. Louis Metro Police to work together in a unified command.

"I want to thank state and local law enforcement, the leaders of the unified command, and the members of the Missouri National Guard for working tirelessly to protect the public," said Nixon. "As the hard work of healing and rebuilding continues, the fact that not a single life was lost as a result of the unrest is a credit to the hard work and dedication of these brave men and women."

After Wednesday, the Missouri National Guard will no longer be on active emergency duty, Nixon said.

Early this month, Nixon scaled back the National Guard presence in Ferguson, dropping the number of troops to 1,268 on duty from a high of 2,200.

Nixon, who initially deployed 700 troops to Ferguson, faced criticism for initially deploying too few National Guard troops as Ferguson and nearby communities convulsed with violence in the hours after St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch announced the grand jury decision on Nov. 24.

Contributing: Yamiche Alcindor and Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY.

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