A woman pastor was arrested during a peaceful protest in the troubled township of Ferguson, Missouri last night.

Pastor Rebecca Ragland, minister of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, was one of five held after blocking a street outside the police headquarters in freezing conditions. The town is on edge as a grand jury is deciding whether to charge officer Darren Wilson in the slaying of 18-year-old Michael Brown in a case that has exposed fresh strains in often-troubled race relations in the United States.

The protesters waved placards and chanted "Whose streets? Our streets!" and "Killer cops have got to go!"

Officers in helmets and shields were deployed after a commander told protesters not to block traffic.

Ragland told the Daily Mail that she was grabbed and dragged along the ground so roughly that her vest marked 'Clergy' was torn off. "I was completely stunned," she said. "All I can tell you is what my body experienced. My mind at that point was just in shock. I was grabbed so hard that I fell to the ground. Then I was just being yanked and it was pretty rough. I'm hurting today."

She said that the group of protesters was dispersing as the police moved in. "I think everybody was completely shocked. We were dispersing at that point. Then they came down so I turned around and I thought, 'Well I'm a de-escalator so I need to stay at the front.'"

Ragland added: "The clergy want to be compassionate voices to soothe people who are so broken and hurt and to be a voice for the kind of justice that's actually going to move the polarities to a point where they can heal instead of this place where we're just shouting and hurting."

She continued: "There is plenty of evidence to suggest that people of color are treated in a discriminatory fashion by our justice system.

"I think that that is sufficient reason for those of us of conscience to stand with the protesters. It's what Jesus would do."

The August 9 killing of Brown triggered weeks of sometimes violent protests demanding Wilson be indicted. Businesses and schools in Ferguson are bracing for renewed unrest, especially if the grand jury decides not to bring charges against Wilson.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency and called in 400 National Guard troops to back up police. Critics have called that a heavy-handed response, saying the majority of demonstrations have been peaceful.

Activists across the United States said they would stage their own rallies at federal courthouses nationwide regardless of the grand jury's decision. They say they will call for federal charges to be brought against Wilson if he does not face state charges.

Cathy Daniels, a hospital worker and activist known to the protesters as "Momma Cat," watched Thursday night's rally.

"My young people, I love them so much," she said. "They thought we'd go away when it got cold, but look. This is just the start."

(Additional reporting by Reuters)