An amazing scene from the heart of what is supposed to be not just an advanced democracy, but the self-declared “shining city on the hill”.  Instead of attempting to calm a troubled community, the governor of Missouri threatened to call out National Guard troops when a grand jury announces its decision whether to indict a white police officer for shooting dead an unarmed black teenager.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said on Tuesday the National Guard would be on standby to respond to any violence that might come after the grand jury’s decision.  Critics believe that this is a signal the grand jury will not charge Officer Darren Wilson with the murder of Michael Brown.

In August, Wilson stopped Michael Brown and a friend for jaywalking in Ferguson, Missouri, but wound up shooting the unarmed teen several times.  The police account of the confrontation changed several times, and information has been withheld from the public at every step.  The killing and the condescending way authorities treated the case was followed by weeks of protests that occasionally broke out into civil unrest but more than occasionally resulted in police violence.

Instead of talking about the militarized police response to the uprising in Ferguson and how it violated the civil rights of residents – as documented by Amnesty International – Jay Nixon phrased the entire news conference under the assumption that Wilson would not be indicted.  He said property damage would not be tolerated.  Nixon confirmed suspicions the National Guard was on alert and has been training for thousands of hours on how it can respond after the grand jury announces its decision.

The cops have been preparing for war with their own people.  The St. Louis County Police Department has spent more than US$100,000 on riot gear and other equipment, such as 235 helmets, 135 shields and 25 batons, as well as tear-gas canisters, smoke grenades and pepper spray.  By the way, US cops use the types of tear gas and pepper spray that have been banned in warfare under the terms of the International Chemical Weapons Convention, signed by most nations in 1990s.

Oh, but Nixon did flank himself with two African American cops, lest anyone think he’s a racist.