Ferguson Grand Jury Still at Work
— -- A grand jury in St. Louis County, Missouri, is expected to reconvene today, trying to decide whether to indict a white police officer in the August shooting death of an unarmed black teen.
The weekend was marked by protests in the city of Ferguson, with security tight and tensions running high ahead of the grand jury’s decision. Many people were expecting the grand jury to come to a decision over the weekend.
While the jurors debate possible criminal charges against officer Darren Wilson, additional law enforcement -- including the National Guard and more than 100 FBI agents -- was stationed in Ferguson ahead of the grand jury’s decision.
The Saint Louis County Police Department switched its officers to 12-hour shifts in recent days. Metal and concrete barricades have been erected in areas around the St Louis County government buildings in Clayton, Missouri, where the grand jury has been meeting. The justice center there also houses the prosecutor's office, the St. Louis County Police Department headquarters and the circuit courts.
A handful of arrests were made during the weekend. Some stores in the St. Louis suburb remain closed, with business owners boarding up windows in fear.
“We look abandoned here, pretty much imprisoned,” business owner Triondus Sleet said. “It’s sad.”
Wilson could be charged with murder or manslaughter -- or nothing -- for the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown. If cleared, a police union rep said he should be able to return to work.
“It would be my hope though that if, one day, he decides to stay in law enforcement, that he's able to do that,” said Detective Gabe Crocker, president of the St. Louis County Police Association. "Especially if he’s cleared, that means he didn’t do anything wrong, according to the grand jury."
President Obama, in an exclusive interview with ABC News, urged for calm no matter what decision the grand jury reaches, a sentiment also expressed by Brown’s mother and father.
“Using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law and contrary to who we are,” Obama said.
