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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)
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 in the death of Michael Brown.
Patricia Bynes, a Democratic committeewoman for Ferguson township, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the resignation is 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. It's been almost infuriating to get to this point and nothing has changed. There was no accountability and sense of responsibility for what has happened."
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."
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."
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, 28, had been on paid administrative leave since shooting Brown, 18, following a brief confrontation on a Ferguson street Aug. 9. Wilson's decision drew plenty of ire on social media, 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"
Wilson was a 6-year veteran with an annual salary of $45,302. He told the Post-Dispatch he had not received a severance package, although he said he may negotiate with the department in hopes of receiving one. He said he's been told he is not the target of any ongoing internal police investigation.
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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