Ferguson Braces for Grand Jury's Michael Brown Decision

Nov 13, 2014,    By MEGHAN KENEALLY

 

 

Stores have boarded up their windows and civil rights groups are holding non-violence training sessions as the jittery town of Ferguson, Missouri, prepares for the grand jury verdict in the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by a police officer.

Anthony Gray, one of the attorneys for Brown's family, said today that he believes that today's testimony before the grand jury by pathologist Dr. Michael Baden suggests that "we're probably getting to the end of the witness list." Baden conducted a private autopsy on Brown on behalf of the family.

The grand jury must decide whether to bring criminal charges against Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting Brown last August. The case has been racially charged because Wilson is white and Brown was black. The grand jury's decision has the potential for public outbursts no matter which way the jury rules, but officials are particularly concerned that no indictment could trigger a renewal of the violent protests that wracked Ferguson during the summer.

Benjamin Crump, another Brown family attorney, appealed to the protesters to remain non-violent, but he also asked for police restraint.

“To law enforcement officers who will be patrolling the streets, we would like to thank you in advance for not having a repeat" of the tactics that critics said were heavy handed.

The folks of Ferguson are wary.

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