Two weeks have passed since the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, by white police officer Darren Wilson, and after more than a week of protests, intermittent looting, controversial police crowd-control tactics and international media attention, tensions between police and protesters on the ground have mostly calmed.
But despite the National Guard's withdrawal from the area on Thursday, and fewer protesters and media populating the streets of Ferguson, developments around the fate of the community, Wilson and some of his fellow officers continue to unfold.
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Legal proceedings
On Wednesday, it was revealed that the 12-member grand jury, responsible for assessing Brown's death and determining whether or not to file criminal charges against Wilson, is composed of six white men, three white women, two black women and one black man.
The racial composition of the jury raised some eyebrows given the fact that as recently as 2010, Ferguson was 67% black and 29% white, according to the New York Times. The same report showed that black residents made up 93% of arrests in the area in 2013. Nine votes from the mostly white grand jury will be needed to indict Wilson.
It could be mid-October before St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch and his office present all of the evidence in Brown's death, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
If Wilson isn't indicted, there are concerns by some that the fragile peace in the community could be broken beyond repair, and lead to a new series of demonstrations and confrontations with police.
Separately, U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder has also launched a federal civil-rights investigation into Brown's death.
Support for the police
The national conversation around Brown's death -- mostly focused on the use of deadly force by police and the militarization of U.S. police departments -- recently included voices of support for Wilson. Collectively, several crowdfunding efforts have raised nearly $250,000 for Wilson.
But in the midst of an online rally of support for Wilson, the recent actions of other police officers have revealed the depth of the rift between the Ferguson community and local authorities
On Wednesday, police officer Lt. Ray Albers was suspended after video surfaced of him threatening and pointing a weapon at a crowd of Ferguson protesters.
Then on Friday, police officer Dan Page, who worked in Ferguson during the protests, was suspended after video surfaced showing him making racist, sexist and homophobic comments during a speech addressing the Oath Keepers of St. Louis and St. Charles. During the speech, Page unapologetically called himself "a killer."
Around the same time, another St. Louis-area police officer, Matthew Pappert, was suspended for posting incendiary messages on Facebook, including a statement that reportedly said Ferguson protesters should be "put down like rabid dogs."
Despite these incidents, open support for Wilson has grown online, and on Saturday, a pro-Wilson rally was held at Barney's Sports Pub in St. Louis.
The pro #DarrenWilson protest is at Barney's bar and restaurant - a cop bar in St. Louis city pic.twitter.com/3oYCoEUagz— Jim Hoft (@gatewaypundit) August 23, 2014
Folks setting up here at Barney's for Support Darren Wilson rally kicking off in about 15 mins. #Ferguson #foxnews pic.twitter.com/bk6towzYoI— Garrett Tenney (@Garrett_FoxNews) August 23, 2014
The online and now offline rallies of support for Wilson come just days before Brown's funeral, which is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m., local time, at the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. It will be open to the public.