Missouri scales back National Guard operations in wake of Ferguson unrest

Citing “improving conditions” in the region, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has announced the state will begin reducing the National Guard presence in St. Louis County.

“As the Guard begins to scale back its operations, the Missouri State Highway Patrol will continue to work closely with local law enforcement agencies,” Nixon said in a statement released Tuesday.

A state of emergency was declared in Missouri on Nov. 17, a move that allowed Gov. Nixon to deploy the Guard ahead of a Ferguson grand jury’s decision in the shooting death of Michael Brown. The state of emergency was set to expire Dec. 17.

When the grand jury’s decision to not indict Darren Wilson was announced, widespread unrest broke out that saw businesses looted and burned to the ground. Sun-Times reporter Kim Janssen was in Ferguson Monday night and described the scene –

Ferguson’s mayor was critical of Gov. Nixon’s use of the National Guard.

“They should have had National Guard troops protecting the hard targets in Ferguson and allowed law enforcement to pursue a very mobile crowd of looters and arsonists,” Mayor James Knowles III said the day after the jury decision.

As a result of the criticism, Nixon ordered hundreds of more members of the National Guard to be deployed.