Abstract
Nearly one year after the shooting of Michael Brown and the unrest that followed in Ferguson, MO, African American residents' perceptions about the legitimacy of police and trust and procedural justice show signs of recovery. These findings derive from a panel study of residents of hot spots of crime in St Louis County, MO, with three waves occurring in the two years preceding the incident, one immediately following the shooting and unrest, and a final set of interviews in summer 2015. Although the immediate effect of the police shooting and handling of unrest contributed to significant declines in trust in police and police legitimacy among African American residents, a preliminary analysis of more recent interviews suggest that confidence and trust are on the rise among these residents.