National Guard Ordered To Ferguson, Missouri To 'Restore Peace and Order'

The National Guard has been called into Ferguson, Missouri on Monday in an attempt to control the riots and protests that have been ongoing since August 9, when unarmed teen Mike Brown was fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced Monday that he would be calling the National Guard into the St. Louis suburb in an attempt to "[restore] peace and order."

"These violent acts are a disservice to the family of Michael Brown and his memory and to the people of this community who yearn for justice to be served and to feel safe in their own homes," Nixon said in a statement.

The arrival of the National Guard comes after over a week of protests by local Ferguson residents, who argue 18-year-old Michael Brown, an African American, was wrongfully shot by white police officer Darren Wilson on Saturday, August 9 when Wilson was responding to a report of a robbery at a local convenience store.

While the Ferguson police department maintains that there was a scuffle between Wilson and Brown, witnesses argue that Brown had his hands in the air when he was fatally shot. A preliminary autopsy found Brown was shot six times, all on his front, and that one bullet wound on the top of Brown's head indicates that he was possibly bowing his head when he was shot.

Due to the extenuating circumstances surrounding Brown's death, a federal autopsy has been ordered for Brown's body.

Ferguson police say protests in the St. Louis suburb have become so uncontrollable that they've had to implement a nightly curfew at midnight. Gov. Nixon has also declared a state of emergency for Ferguson this past Saturday.