Tensions Begin to Ease as National Guard Ordered to Leave Ferguson
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iStock/Thinkstock(FERGUSON, Mo.) — The streets of Ferguson were mostly peaceful Thursday night, as the tensions are beginning to let up in the St. Louis suburb where unrest has ruled since the police shooting death of an unarmed black teen earlier this month.
Protesters gathered Thursday night with signs near the spot where Michael Brown, 18, was shot Aug. 9.
Authorities arrested seven people overnight, including five for failing to disperse, Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson said at an early-morning news conference.
The peaceful night comes as Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the Missouri National Guard, which arrived Monday, to leave the town.
With Brown’s funeral scheduled for Monday, Johnson would not speculate on a possible uptick of violence.
A decision on whether the officer who shot Brown, Darren Wilson, would be indicted will not come quickly, St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said Wednesday. McCullough predicted that it could take until the middle of October for the grand jury to decide whether to charge Wilson.
Grand juries typically meet one day a week.
Federal authorities are investigating independently.
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