Calm prevails in Ferguson, MO as National Guard withdraws

ST. LOUIS -- After several nights of violent protests, it has been calmer and more peaceful in Ferguson on Thursday. The governor of Missouri has begun withdrawing the National Guard as the law enforcement operation to protect people and property in Ferguson winds down.

With helmets lined up and bags packed, National Guard soldiers are headed home- their security mission finished. A large portion of the troopers deployed to Ferguson on Monday appear to have left town on Thursday night, but what they leave behind remains to be seen.

"The national media is saying that this a divided community, socioeconomic lines and racial lines, everyone here wanted to show that we are not divided, we are united," said James Knowles III, Ferguson mayor.

Saturday will be two weeks since Michael Brown was shot and killed by police after they say he robbed a convenience store of some cigars. A memorial continues to grow on the street where he was killed.

"I believe deep in my heart Ferguson will be known for creating change in this country, it's going to end in peace," said Capt. Ron Johnson, Missouri Highway Patrol.

The gunshots that ended Brown's life and began public rage have given way to a quiet hope for peace on Thursday.

The sound of late-summer cicadas are the backdrop on this 95-degree day, approaching 48 hours since there was violence aimed at police.

Wednesday night, a small group of peaceful protesters wrapped up before midnight. Seven people were arrested - none from Ferguson, MO, and all from metro St. Louis. Most were charged with failure to disperse, although one was grabbed on a fugitive warrant.

Since August 9, more than 160 people have been arrested, including almost a dozen from Chicago and downstate Illinois.

Among them was a Chicago law student who had traveled here to work as an observer with the National Lawyers Guild, documenting police misconduct. Max Suchan says he and others on the street were forced to the pavement at gunpoint.

Since the guard's arrival Monday, flare-ups in the small section of town that had been the center of nightly unrest have begun to subside. The quietest night was overnight Wednesday and Thursday, when police arrested only a handful of people in the protest zone.

"The last two nights have been really good. I feel we're making progress," Nixon told KMOX-AM, noting that a state of emergency remained in effect in Ferguson.

Demonstrations began after the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown, and authorities have arrested at least 163 people in the protest area. Data provided Thursday by St. Louis County showed that while the majority of those arrested are Missourians, just seven live in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb. The vast majority, 128 people, were cited for failure to disperse. Twenty-one face burglary-related charges.

Meanwhile Thursday, St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch reiterated he has no intentions of removing himself from the case, and he urged Nixon to once and for all decide if he will act on calls for McCulloch's ouster.

Some question McCulloch's ability to be unbiased since his father, mother and other relatives worked for St. Louis police. His father was killed while responding to a call involving a black suspect.

Nixon said this week he is not asking McCulloch to recuse himself. But a McCulloch aide, Ed Magee, said the governor 'didn't take an actual position one way or the other."

McCulloch called for a more definitive decision and said in a statement that Nixon must "end this distraction" or risk delay in resolution of the investigation.

On Thursday, Nixon told KMOX he had no plans to take the case from McCulloch, noting that "we're all trying to do our jobs."

Federal authorities have launched an independent investigation into Brown's death, and U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill told The Associated Press that all of the physical evidence from the case was being flown Thursday from St. Louis to the FBI forensics lab in Quantico, Virginia. The evidence includes shell casings and trajectories, blood patterns and clothing, the Missouri Democrat said.

"The only thing you have to test the credibility of eye witnesses to a shooting like this is in fact the physical evidence," McCaskill said. "I'm hopeful the forensic evidence will be clear and will shed a lot more light on what the facts were."

McCaskill also announced that next month she will lead a Senate hearing to look into the militarization of local police departments after criticism of the law enforcement response to the protests in Ferguson following Brown's death.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, in charge of securing Ferguson, said just six people were arrested at protests Wednesday night, compared to 47 the previous night, providing hope among law enforcement leaders that tensions may be beginning to ease.

A grand jury on Wednesday began considering evidence to determine whether the officer who shot Brown, Darren Wilson, should be charged. Magee said there was no timeline for the process, but it could take weeks.

Another fatal police-involved shooting happened this week in St. Louis, about 5 miles from the site where Brown was killed. St. Louis police released video showing officers killing a knife-wielding man. The video shows the man saying, "Kill me now" as he moved toward two officers. The officers fired six shots each, killing 25-year-old Kajieme Powell.

The St. Louis shooting briefly spurred a gathering of about 150 people who chanted, "Hands up, don't shoot," a chant that has become common among protesters in Ferguson.

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said he wanted to move quickly to make public as much information as possible. By Wednesday he had provided media with cellphone video of the shooting, the 911 call, dispatch tapes and surveillance video from a nearby store.

"I think the lessons learned from Ferguson were so crystal clear," Dotson said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.