Missouri Highway Patrol Put in Charge of Ferguson Response
The war-zone approach didn't work for the governor.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday ordered the state Highway Patrol to take over security in Ferguson, the St. Louis suburb roiled by four nights of unrest over the police killing of an unarmed black teenager.
The governor moved after police came under intense criticism for their handling of the protests, including firing tear gas into crowds on Wednesday night and arresting two reporters.
Nixon said that Ferguson in recent days looked "like a war zone, and that's unacceptable."
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
"[It looks]like a war zone, and that's unacceptable."
I expect it to look like a war zone managed by the Highway Patrol!
"Citizens of Ferguson...Settle down right meow!"