The police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, leading to protests all over the US, has resigned from the force.
Officer Darren Wilson formally announced his decision to resign via a letter dated Saturday, November 29.
The letter reads:
“I, Darren Wilson, hereby resign my commission as a police officer with the City of Ferguson effective immediately. I have been told that my continues employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow.”
“For obvious reasons, I wanted to wait until the grand jury made their decision before I officially made my decision to resign. It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of the paramount importance to me.”
“It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal. I would like to thank all of my supporters and fellow officers throughout this process.”
Wilson shot 18-year-old Michael Brown six times on August 9, 2014 but a grand jury, on Monday, November 24, chose not to charge him for the teenager’s death.
The decision led to even more unrest in Ferguson with previously peaceful protests deteriorating into violent ones.
Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton responded to the officer’s resignation saying:
“We were not after Wilson's job, we were after Michael Brown's justice.”
Wilson had said in an interview with ABC News that he had a “clear conscience” as regards the shooting and would do the same thing again if given the chance.
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