Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown nearly four months ago, is resigning, according to his attorney.
Wilson's resignation was announced Saturday by Neil Bruntrager, who says his client's resignation is effective immediately. Wilson had been on administrative leave since Aug. 9.
In his resignation letter, Wilson writes that he hopes his resignation "will allow the community to heal." The Ferguson Police Department has not confirmed that it has received this letter.
A grand jury spent more than three months reviewing evidence in the shooting incident before deciding that the 28-year-old police officer would not be charged in the case. The confrontation and grand jury decision sparked continuing protests in the St. Louis suburb and across the country.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch :
"I, Darren Wilson, hereby resign my commission as a police officer with the City of Ferguson 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. 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 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."
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