With clashes between police and protesters increasing in Ferguson, reports indicate that a high threat team, comprising of Special Ops contractors and former Navy SEALs, will be deployed to contain the situation.
Racial tensions in the Missouri city escalated further on Tuesday, after another African American man was shot down by the police, within a week of the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
The decision to deploy Special Ops contractors and former Navy SEALs was announced by a private military security service provider - Asymmetric Solutions - on its Twitter account.
We've been to Baghdad, Kabul, KL, Manilla, Peshwar, Bogata. Never guessed we would deploy a high threat team in our own city. #furgeson
— Asymmetric Solutions (@AsymmetricUSA) August 19, 2014
The St Louis-based company is a division of Applied Defense Technologies, which employs combat experienced Spec Ops veterans, from Navy SEALs, SEAL 6 and others. The company offers highly trained security personnel for 'high threat' missions.
We are saddened that such service is needed in what is normally a peaceful, harmonious metropolitan area full of good people.
— Asymmetric Solutions (@AsymmetricUSA) August 20, 2014
There has been no official confirmation on the deployment yet.
"We cannot professionally hand out that information, regardless of client or location. We put a security team of former SOF personnel into the STL area at the request of a client," a spokesperson of Asymmetric Solutions told 1776 Channel, when responding to a request for information via Twitter.
The situation in Ferguson still remains tense as the Missouri National Guard troops, which arrived on Tuesday, failed to quell the week-long crisis in the St Louis suburb.
Violent clashes have continued to plague Ferguson though state and local law-enforcement authorities tried several methods, according to New York Times. The local police, in military-style vehicles and riot gear, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol officials have been unable to bring the protests to a stop.
In the week-long agitiations, the protesters have mainly demanded that murder charges should be brought against the officer who shot and killed Brown.
As per the jail records obtained by NBC News, at least 78 people have been arrested in Ferguson so far, on charges of breaking the unlawful assembly and rioting.
