Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown in August, officially resigned Nov. 29, 2014, from the Ferguson Police Department.(Photo: Getty Images)
Reaction was as fierce as it was mixed to the news that the white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed, white teen resigned from the Ferguson, Mo., police force.
Darren Wilson resigned effective immediately on Saturday, five days after a St. Louis county grand jury decided Wilson would not face charges. Wilson, 28, had been on administrative leave since shooting Michael Brown, 18, following a brief confrontation on a Ferguson street Aug. 9.
Ferguson officials said they would publicly react to Wilson's resignation later Sunday. Brown's parents were planning to attend a church service where civil rights activist Al Sharpton was scheduled to speak. The venue: Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, the church where Brown's funeral was held.
"We were not after Wilson's job," Sharpton said in a statement. "We were after Michael Brown's justice."
Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, the church where Michael Brown, Jr.'s funeral was held. Brown's parents, Michael Brown, Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, will attend.
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.
Resident Reed Voorhees said he hoped Wilson could find similar work "someplace where he would enjoy life, and move on with his life."
Scores of protesters -- and even more police officers -- demonstrated outside Ferguson police headquarters Saturday night. An American flag was burned and at one one point two arrests were made. But the gathering lacked that heated violence that marked the first nights after the grand jury announced Monday that Wilson would not face charges.
Wilson's decision drew plenty of ire on social media and elsewhere, even among people who were glad to see him gone.
Sonia Faleiro, a renowned New Dehli 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"
In his resignation letter, Wilson said 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." He said he waited for the grand jury to announce their decision, and had hoped to continue in police work.
"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.
Contributing: Associated Press
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