(KTVI) - Missouri Governor Jay Nixon held a telephone conference with media from across the globe tonight to discuss his reasoning behind the state of emergency executive order he issued this Monday afternoon. Gov. Nixon says the declaration allows the National Guard to be activated in advance of the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case. He said the guard will protect buildings such as fire stations and malls and act as secondary support for police. He said St. Louis County police will be in control of the Ferguson protests areas and not the Ferguson Police Department. Ferguson police will continue with other normal duties. His hope is that the response to whatever the verdict will be is peaceful. He issued the order to protect safety and speech. He wouldn't answer questions about whether protesters, schools and other groups will be given advanced notice of the grand jury's decision. He wouldn’t say when he expected a decision... only that his timeline coincides with prosecutor Bob McCulloch has said which is any day through the end of the month.
Audio from Gov. Jay Nixon's Teleconference
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