All agree the problem began with  Michael Brown being  told to stop walking in the street.. From that point on, everyone has a different story. Some are saying the teen was surrendering with his hands in the air, while others claim he attacked the officer, attempting to take his gun.  A newly released video supports the report that he placed his hands in the air to convey he was unarmed.

Either way, it has been over a month since the death of Brown, yet new witnesses, and protests, continue to arise.. So far, there have been no charges filed against the involved police officer, Darren Wilson, but he is set to go to trial in October.

Activists and community organizers  have made it clear they will not stop their actions until Officer Wilson has been arrested. The crowd gathered outside of the St. Louis County Justice Center planning on protesting until the next county council meeting.  The demonstrators even attempted to shut down Interstate 70 during rush hour, demanding justice for Michael Brown.

Meanwhile St. Louis residents are outraged: reporting fires, looting  and other acts of vandalism. Peaceful crowds continue to gather, , chanting “Hands up, Don’t shot” and holding their hands, just as Brown did, in solidarity.

The situation in St. Louis speaks to something all too familiar. Many people feel like history is repeating itself, with numerous police brutality incidents being reported over the past couple of years. Adding to this tension is the fact that this community is predominately African American, but holds a large, mostly Caucasian police force.  It has just been stated that the grand jury’s time has been extended until next year to determine the fate of Officer Darren Wilson, but that does not mean they will take that long.  Federal Civil Rights investigators are looking into the case and will reveal if racism was a factor, but there are still too many conflicting stories for us to know exactly what happened on Aug. 9.