Heartbroken family, friends and supporters of Australian life coach Justine Damond are bracing for the announcement of whether the US police officer who shot her dead in an alley will be charged.
The Minneapolis prosecutor who will make the decision, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, has said he would make a decision before the end of the year.
Minneapolis and its sister city St Paul have been rocked by violent protests in the aftermath of a spate of recent police shootings and authorities are preparing for a backlash whether Officer Mohamed Noor is charged or not for the July 15 fatal shooting of Ms Damond.
"There's going to be a reaction from certain segments in the community regardless of what decision is made," Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune newspaper.
Ms Damond's family and supporters have raised concerns about how long the investigation has taken.
"Our group believes justice delayed is justice denied," said Todd Schuman, a member of Justice for Justine.
"We're absolutely outraged that it's taken so long."
Ms Damond, dressed in her pyjamas, was shot by Officer Noor after she called 911 just before midnight on July 15 to report a woman screaming in her affluent Minneapolis neighbourhood.
Officer Noor was sitting in the front passenger seat of his police vehicle in the alley and when Ms Damond approached in the darkness, he shot across his partner in the driver's seat, Officer Matthew Harrity, and out the car's window, striking the Australian in the stomach.
Somali-born Officer Noor has declined to be interviewed by investigators.
The large Somali community in Minneapolis is also bracing for a decision.
In September, the Minneapolis police union, after months of silence, stepped in after Mr Freeman told a town hall meeting the shooting did not have to happen.
"We want an assurance that Noor will not be charged simply on the basis of Damond's status as a fine young woman in a nice neighbourhood," police union boss Lieutenant Bob Kroll wrote in a letter published in the Star-Tribune.
Ms Damond, 40, originally from Sydney's northern beaches, and her American fiance, Don Damond, had planned to marry in Hawaii in August.
