Ferguson: Who’s in charge here?

Nothing says authority like “Well I mean, we’re, um, it, uh, it, uh, you know.”

That was the response from Missouri Governor Jay Nixon when asked where the buck stops (to use the term popularized by the Show Me State’s favorite son, Harry Truman) when it comes to policing any demonstrations that might arise after the announcement of a grand jury decision on whether to indict Ferguson Police Officers Darren Wilson. Wilson shot and killed unarmed teen Michael Brown in August, sparking weeks of protests in the St. Louis suburb.

Governor Nixon issued an executive order Monday in an attempt to clarify the commend structure for policing Ferguson and surrounding parts of St. Louis County should protests erupt after the grand jury decision is made public. It is widely believed by those that have followed developments in the case that Wilson will not be indicted on any serious charges in the Brown killing.

Nixon’s order outlined a “unified command” structure that put the St. Louis County police in “command and operational control” of the Ferguson area, with Missouri State Highway Patrol and St. Louis city police responding to “the possibility of expanded unrest” (to use Nixon’s words) around the area. The National Guard, which has been mobilized in this order, will be used for what St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said are support duties.

“[The Guard] will not be on the front lines confronting protesters,” said Slay in a Monday press conference.

The command structure is notable in its difference from August, when the Highway Patrol was the law enforcement body called in to restore order after the tactics used by Ferguson and St. Louis County police — which included tear gas, rubber bullets and baton rounds, and numerous arrests — were seen as excessive and provocative.

But now it is again the County police that will be charged with what Nixon called the “dual pillars” of police response: to “protect civil rights and ensure public safety.”

Still Nixon could not give a clear answer as to just who was at the top of the chain of command.

“Well I mean, we’re, um, it, uh, it, uh, you know — our goal here is to, is to, is to — you know, keep the peace and allow folks’ voices to be heard,” Nixon said in his Monday press call. "I don't spend a tremendous amount of time personalizing this vis-a-vis me,” adding, “I’d prefer not to be a commentator on it.”

When pressed by Huffington Post reporter Matthew Sledge “Is there any one official or agency ultimately in charge here in terms of response?” Nixon was still not clear.

“Clearly, I … I feel good about the, we worked hard to established unified command, to outline responsibilities,” Nixon said. “And now, with the additional assets provided by my order today of the Missouri National Guard, we’ve worked through a number of operational issues that the folks had. I’ll only say that our efforts today are on top of … a lot of things have been done the last 100 days to make sure we’re prepared for any contingency.”

Before the August shooting, resulting demonstrations and militarized police response, Nixon was seen as a politician on the rise, with talk of a vice presidential nod being a possibility for the swing-state conservative Democrat. Monday’s stumble, like many of the governor’s responses and actions since the shooting, seem like those of a man overly conscious and overtly concerned with how Ferguson and its surrounding issues might affect his political future. The people of Ferguson and St. Louis County likely have more immediate concerns.

State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Democrat who represents one of St. Louis’s inner-ring suburbs and has been a frequent critic of Nixon’s handling of the Ferguson response, wrote to President Barack Obama, asking that the National Guard be put under federal control, rather than under the state and county.

“Thus far the state of Missouri has proven ill-equipped to handle this explosive and tragic situation,” Chappelle-Nadal wrote. “With the state-controlled National Guard on the way, I am concerned about the potential for an incident similar to Kent State occurring, only worse.”