CLAYTON • Vowing that “we’re not going to let this community go down in flames,” St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay added their voices Wednesday to the call for calm when a grand jury rules on the Michael Brown case.

At a news conference Wednesday, Slay and Dooley decried rumors of pending unrest circulating on social media, the wide-scale purchase of guns and ammunition by fearful homeowners and what Dooley characterized as the pervasive “hysteria” enveloping the region in advance of the grand jury outcome.

“Take a deep breath, stand back and calm down,” urged the county executive.

Dooley and Slay emphasized that public safety and ensuring the right of demonstrators to voice their opinions remain a top priority.

Slay said he has directed St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson to grant protesters some “leeway” by allowing peaceful assembly whenever possible.

But, the mayor warned, “Violence is not a constitutionally protected right. Damaging property is not a constitutionally protected right, inciting violence is not a constitutionally protected right.”

Dooley and Slay cited the steps to reform the municipal court system and provide more employment opportunities to young African-Americans as evidence that Brown’s death could ultimately serve as a catalyst for positive change.

“We will get through this,” said Slay. “We are already laying the groundwork to be a better region.”

Ferguson, added Dooley, has prompted conversations among people “who have never talked to each other before.”

The county executive at the same time expressed regret that it took the Aug. 9 shooting of Brown by a white law enforcement officer to start those dialogues along with a push to address racial profiling and other issues that have long simmered in minority communities.

Dooley told reporters he “can identify” with being pulled over by police because of the color of his skin because “it has happened to me.”

Despite the predictions of violence running rampant on Twitter and Facebook and in everyday conversations, Dooley said he remains confident the next phase of the Brown investigation will not result in damage to property or harm to police and citizens.

Noting that police cited about 2 percent of the demonstrators involved in the summer protests for criminal activities, Dooley said, “I’m going to give the people of this community the benefit of the doubt.”

After the news conference, Slay and Dooley were among state and local officials who took part in a conference call with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder about plans for local response to the ongoing unrest surrounding the Brown shooting.

Holder was “encouraged by reports he has received about progress being made in those planning efforts, including dialogue with coalition leaders about constructive engagement in the weeks ahead,” a statement released by the Justice Department said.