St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, the man potentially heading charges against the officer who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, is not happy with Governor Jay Nixon's decision to put the Missouri Highway Patrol in charge of security in Ferguson.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Paul Hampel tweeted on a phone call with McCulloch:
#MikeMike STL County prosecutor Bob McCulloch called me. Said Nixon replacing Chief Belmar with HWP Capt Johnson was illegal, disgraceful.
— paul hampel (@phampel) August 15, 2014
#MikeMike "Nixon denigrated the men and women of the County Police Department and what they've done." --McCulloch
— paul hampel (@phampel) August 15, 2014
#MikeMike "I have great respect for Capt. Johnson. And I hope I am wrong but I think Nixon's action put a lot of people in danger."McCulloch
— paul hampel (@phampel) August 15, 2014
For what it's worth, so far the leadership changes seem to have led to a much more peaceful atmosphere in Ferguson on Thursday, August 14.
The leadership changes, however, did not affect the criminal investigation into the shooting of Michael Brown, which is still being headed by the St. Louis County Police Department — and any charges would likely be handed out by McCulloch.
To learn more about the protests in Ferguson, read Vox's full explainer and watch the two-minute video below:
