Protests continue as Ferguson area awaits grand jury decision

The streets of Ferguson were quiet last night, but that wasn't the case in the St. Louis neighborhood of Shaw, about seven miles east of Clayton, Missouri, where the St. Louis County Justice Center is located.

Demonstrators marched and stopped traffic to protest the deaths of Michael Brown and others killed in police shootings, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.

Some 125 protestors -- and police watching them -- proved it is possible to have demonstrations without clashing. There were no arrests.

Ferguson is gearing up for a much larger protester presence, and security and tensions are both higher now that most people believe a decision from a grand jury is imminent. The panel, made up of seven men and five women, must decide whether to charge white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal August shooting of Brown, an 18-year old black man.

"What we are trying to do is make sure we have areas that are designated that people can protest and express themselves, but we want it to be orderly," said Daniel Isom, Missouri public safety director.

Isom has helped coordinate a security plan that involves local police, state troopers and the National Guard.

"I have expectations that things will go well, that things will be peaceful, that they will be orderly," Isom said.

Potential charges range from murder to involuntary manslaughter, but the twelve jurors could also not charge Wilson at all.

This weekend, Michael Brown Sr., handed out donated Thanksgiving turkeys to needy families.

"This is a tough time for me, and just to give back -- it's a good feeling," Brown said.

Brown has pleaded for protesters to be peaceful regardless of what the grand jury decides.

At Christ the King Church on Sunday, Pastor Traci Blackmon spoke to an uneasy congregation.

"The anxiety level in the community as a whole is off the charts," Blackmon said.