Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Missouri police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, has resigned from the police force without severance after days of protests.
After a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson in the August shooting death of Brown, violent protests have been organized all over the country.
After Wilson was told that his colleagues were receiving death threats if he stayed with the force, he decided on his “own free will” to resign.
His lawyer, Neil Bruntrager, confirmed the news to CNN and Ferguson mayor James Knowles also spoke about it to reporters on Sunday. He has been on administrative leave since August.
The AP reports that Wilson wrote in his resignation letter to the Ferguson police that his “continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance I cannot allow.”
Benjamin Crump, the attorney who represents the parents of Brown, also responded in a statement.
“It was always believed that the police officer would do what was in his best interest, both personally and professionally,” he said. “We didn’t believe that he would be able to be effective for the Ferguson community nor the Ferguson Police Department because of the tragic circumstances that claimed the life of Michael Brown Jr.”
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