Officer Darren Wilson, 28, has announced his resignation from the Ferguson County Police Department following Monday night’s announcement that he will not be indicted for shooting unarmed black teen Michael Brown, 18, this past summer.
Although Wilson had been on administrative leave since the Aug. 9th fatal shooting, news of his resignation was officially announced on Saturday, November 29, 2014.
The announcement came via Wilson’s attorney, Neil Bruntrager, who says that the resignation is effective immediately.
“I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow,” Wilson said in a resignation letter seen by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“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.
It doesn’t mean Wilson is entirely off the hook, however. Despite a grand jury determining he would not be indicted after examining all evidence, Wilson my still face charges after the U.S. Justice Department concludes their own investigation of the shooting.
As for how Wilson is coping mentally? It seems his conscience is clean. Following the grand jury’s decision not to indict him he told ABC News, “I know I did my job right.” He further elaborated that he feared for his life when Brown, allegedly, reached for his gun during the altercation that led to the fatal shooting.
