Ferguson City Council Meeting Postponed To Find Venue For Large Crowd

The Ferguson City Council in Missouri postponed Tuesday its regular bimonthly meeting in order to find a bigger venue for the large crowd expected following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, city leaders said in a statement. It is the first council meeting since Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Brown, 18, on Aug. 9. A new meeting date was not made public.

The decision was made after the city council met with state and local law enforcement and the mayor of Ferguson. The city will deliver postage-paid comment cards to residents in the coming week so they can send in their concerns to the city. The city also plans to create an online forum so residents can comment online.

"The mayor and city council have a strong desire to hear public input and are committed to using that feedback to develop specific actions to be taken to restore the public trust and move our community forward in a positive direction," the official statement read.

Relative calm has largely returned to Ferguson after nearly two weeks of violence between protesters and police in the wake of Brown's death. Brown, who was black, was killed by Wilson, 28, who is white. Unrest was escalated by a heavy-handed response by local law enforcement officials that involved assault rifles, military-grade armored vehicles and tear gas to disperse protesters. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency on Aug. 16. St. Louis County Police were withdrawn from Ferguson and replaced by the Missouri Highway Patrol led by Capt. Ron Johnson. Brown was buried on Monday.