Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon speaks at a news conference dealing with the aftermath of a police shooting of teenager Michael Brown, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. The governor declared a state of emergency Saturday and imposed a curfew in the St. Louis suburb where police and protesters have clashed after Brown was shot to death by a White police officer a week ago. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is lifting a curfew while ordering the National Guard to help restore order in a St. Louis suburb that has seen sometimes violent protests since the fatal police shooting of an unarmed Black teenager.
Nixon deployed the Guard Monday following a Sunday night clash between armored police and what he as “a violent criminal element intent upon terrorizing the community.”
The unrest followed the Aug. 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is White.
The neighborhood has been under a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew the past two days, after Nixon declared a state of emergency. The governor says in a statement that the curfew is now lifted.
He says the Guard will be under the direction of the state Highway Patrol. Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol speaks during a news conference as Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, left, listens during news conference Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014, in St. Louis. Nixon has announced the Missouri State Highway Patrol, led by Capt. Johnson, will take over the supervision of security in the St. Louis suburb that’s been the scene of violent protests since a police officer fatally shot an unarmed Black teenager, the governor announced Wednesday.(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
