Darren Wilson, the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager in August, has resigned from the police department in Ferguson, Missouri, his attorney, Neil Bruntrager, confirmed to CNN Saturday night.
In a telephone interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Wilson said he resigned after the police department told him it received threats of violence if he remained an employee.
"I'm resigning of my own free will," he said. "I'm not willing to let someone else get hurt because of me."
The resignation, which is immediate, comes five days after a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown, 18.
The shooting sparked worldwide protests and the Monday announcement of no indictment triggered another round of demonstrations that continued through the week and into the weekend.
As police and protesters clashed, a contentious national debate on race and law enforcement reopened, with many people complaining that police unfairly target black males. Wilson is white and Brown was black.
Wilson says he's sorry but his conscience is clear
I feel bad for Officer Wilson because he lost a job he loved because people pulled the race card. He was defending himself and now he is being punished for it. He feared for his life and acted as he saw fit. I don't think he should have to resign because of that.
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