After a third night of clashes between protestors and police in Ferguson following the police shooting of teenager Michael Brown, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon called for calm in the north St. Louis community.

“The worsening situation in Ferguson is deeply troubling, and does not represent who we are as Missourians or as Americans. While we all respect the solemn responsibility of our law enforcement officers to protect the public, we must also safeguard the rights of Missourians to peaceably assemble and the rights of the press to report on matters of public concern,” he said in a statement.

“I have been closely monitoring the situation and will continue to be in communication with local leaders, and I will be in north St. Louis County tomorrow. As Governor, I am committed to ensuring the pain of last weekend’s tragedy does not continue to be compounded by this ongoing crisis. Once again, I ask that members of the community demonstrate patience and calm while the investigation continues, and I urge law enforcement agencies to keep the peace and respect the rights of residents and the press during this difficult time,” he added.

For a third night, mostly African American protestors have faced off with mostly white police officers in a clash that has exposed long brushed over racial tensions in the community.

On Wednesday night, two journalists were reportedly assaulted and detained as police moved to vacate parts of Ferguson.