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Darren Wilson officially resigned from the Ferguson Police Department on Saturday night. The announcement comes nearly 4 months since he shot and killed Michael Brown and less than a week since a grand jury decided not to indict him. VPC
Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown in August, officially resigned Nov. 29, 2014, from the Ferguson Police Department.(Photo: Getty Images)
The white police officer who resigned almost four months after fatally shooting a black teen, setting off months of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson, Mo., was not asked to leave — but "it's best that we continue to move on as a community," Mayor James Knowles said Sunday.
Knowles said Darren Wilson, who was earning about $45,000 a year, was given no severance when he resigned Saturday, effective immediately. Wilson, 28, had been on paid administrative leave since shooting Michael Brown, 18, following a brief confrontation on a Ferguson street Aug. 9.
A St. Louis County grand jury declined Nov. 24 to indict Wilson on any charges in Brown's death, sparking more protests.
Knowles said at a news conference Sunday that the city of 21,000 will fund police academy scholarships aimed at increasing minority representation on the city's force of more than 50 members. Recipients will be required to work on the Ferguson force for at least two years after graduation. All but a handful of Ferguson officers are white; the city is predominantly black.
Knowles, who is white, said the city will increase its stipend -- to $300 per month, up from $100 -- for officers living in the city, and will start a police explorer program in schools to give students a chance to meet and interact with police officers in a friendly setting.
"We are committed to rebuilding the city and to once again become a thriving community for economic development and residential stability," Knowles said.
Wilson said threats directed at the department fueled concern that staying on the force might have "put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow."
"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 said in his resignation letter.
"It was always believed that the police officer would do what was in his best interest, both personally and professionally," said Benjamin Crump, a lawyer representing Brown's family. "We didn't believe that he would be able to be effective for the Ferguson community nor the Ferguson Police Department."
Rev. Al Sharpton, who spoke at a church service Brown's parents attended Sunday, issued a statement saying, "We were not after Wilson's job. We were after Michael Brown's justice."
Patricia Bynes, a Democratic committeewoman in Ferguson, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the resignation was too little, too late.
"It doesn't even have the same impact that it would have months ago," she said. "It would have relieved a lot of anger and the pressure in the streets"
Bynes tweeted this: "The reality is that after all that has happened Wilson is a tiny drop in a big bucket. We have much bigger fish to fry."
Scores of protesters demonstrated outside Ferguson police headquarters Saturday night. An American flag was burned and two people were arrested. But the gathering lacked the furious outrage that marked the first nights after the grand jury announced that Wilson would not face charges.
Protester Deray McKesson tweeted: "Darren Wilson is not in jail, as he should be. His resignation is not enough, his resignation is important but not justice."
Not far from the protest, resident Victoria Rutherford said she believed Wilson's resignation was not enough, that he should have been convicted of a crime. "I'm upset. I have a 16-year-old son. (Michael Brown) could've been him. I feel that he was absolutely in the wrong," she said.
Ferguson resident Reed Voorhees was supportive of Wilson, saying he hoped Wilson could find similar work "someplace where he would enjoy life, and move on with his life."
Wilson recently married Ferguson officer Barbara Spradling, and the couple is expecting a child. Wilson's lawyer, Neil Bruntrager, said Wilson left after police Chief Tom Jackson told him that people had threatened violence against officers.
"In terms of what (the resignation) means, it means at this point he doesn't have a paycheck," Bruntrager said. "He has no income so he'll have to make some decisions pretty quickly."
Wilson's decision to leave the force drew ire on social media from across the nation and around the globe, even among people who were glad to see him gone.
Sonia Faleiro, a New Delhi journalist, tweeted: "Only in America: killer escapes jail time, quits job, demands severance package."
But others wished Wilson well. Tweeted @jbrownlee from Peoria, Ariz.: "I wish #DarrenWilson the best in his next endeavor! God bless you and your wife! #DarrenWilsonResigns"
Victor Warden of South Carolina tweeted: "Shameful that #Darren Wilson, a good officer, resigns bcuz of the racist and hateful actions of ppl who want justice 4 a criminal!"
Contributing: The Associated Press
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