the missouri national guard prepared to deploy to help quell riots in ferguson , missouri .
the guard came to ferguson to support law enforcement officers , whom many community leaders and civil rights activists accused of using excessive force and inflaming an already tense situation in protests that flared sporadically from august through the end of the year .
the national guard 's language , contained in internal mission briefings obtained through a freedom of information act request , is intensifying the concerns of some who objected to the police officers ' actions in putting down riots that