Darren Wilson resigns from Ferguson police department

The officer who shot and killed unarmed 18-year-old, Michael Brown, has resigned from his position as a police officer from Ferguson PD, his attorney said.

Darren Wilson had been on paid administrative leave since the August 9th incident. His resignation was announced Saturday by one of his attorneys, Neil Bruntrager. The resignation is effective immediately, Bruntrager said.

A grand jury spent nearly three months listening to testimony and evidence, before deciding not to indict Wilson in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Wilson told jurors that he feared for his life when Brown hit him and reached for his gun.

The Department of Justice is still conducting their investigation on the shooting and a separate probe of police department practices.

The shooting sparked protests and a national conversation on policing and race relations.

Wilson said he has a clean conscience because “I know I did my job right.” Brown’s shooting was the first time he fired his gun on the job, he said.

Read Darren Wilson’s resignation letter, via St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

“I, Darren Wilson, hereby resign my commission as a police officer with the City of Ferguson effective immediately. I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow. For obvious reasons, I wanted to wait until the grand jury made their decision before I officially made my decision to resign. It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me. 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.”