ST. LOUIS • St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay has requested 400 National Guard troops to be posted throughout the city in response to anticipated unrest following a grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case.

Slay, in a letter to Alderman Phyllis Young, who chairs the city’s public safety committee, said the troops will be split into two 12-hour shifts. He said they will not be deployed in areas where there are active protests.

“Our goal is to keep all of our citizens and their homes and businesses safe, including those who are in neighborhoods that are nowhere near where the protests end up being concentrated,” Slay wrote on Tuesday.

Slay said the city will post the guardsmen along with civilian police officers at 45 locations throughout the city to “prevent random acts of violence, property destruction, looting or other criminal activity away from the demonstrations.” The city has about 1,000 police officers.

Slay didn’t disclose the exact locations where the guard members will be posted.

The 400 guard members are in addition those who will be posted in Ferguson, which is several miles away from the city. Slay has said the guard members won’t interact with protesters unless there is an emergency.