Ferguson Cop Resigns: Darren Wilson Quits After Police Department Receives Violent Threats
The Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, who was involved in the shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown has resigned from the police force.
Wilson, 28, confirmed he was resigning Saturday, just days after a grand jury decided not to indict him for the incident, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Wilson told the Post-Dispatch he resigned after the police department received threats of violence if he remained an employee.
But his resignation is unlikely to abate protests in the region, as supporters of Brown and his family continue to show their anger toward the grand jury's non indictment.
Wilson worked for the department for six years before resigning Saturday. In a letter, which stated the resignation was effective immediately, Wilson explained he was leaving in order to protect the department.
"It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me. It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal," the letter read, according to Fox 9.
Family and friends of Brown attended a funeral lead by Rev. Al Sharpton, who said protesters were not after Wilson's job but rather justice for Brown.
The St. Louis chapter of the NAACP said that the resignation was a step in the right direction.
Adolphus Pruitt told The New York Times the resignation "not only fulfills one of the demands of the protesters, but also provides for one of the steps necessary for the wholesale reconstructions of law enforcement in Ferguson."
Meanwhile others are simply unfazed. One protester told Fox 9 he didn't care about the resignation and that he had been protesting since August.
Brown was shot and killed on Aug. 9, and since then the streets of Ferguson have been lined with protesters demanding justice for the teen. The incidents, which unfolded that day, were reviewed by a grand jury for three months, and the decision not to indict Wilson was delivered last week.
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