Ferguson police officer who shot teenager resigns

Darren Wilson, the police officer who killed an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, St Louis, United states, has resigned.

Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown, 18, on August 9, resigned on Saturday, citing threats of violence.

A St Louis county grand jury on Monday had failed to indict Wilson in connection with the killing.

The decision of the jury sparked wider protests in 12 cities across the US,  including Ferguson.

Wilson, who had worked for the Ferguson police department for six years and earned $45, 302 annually, disclosed in an interview that he resigned after the police department told him that it had receive threats that violence would break out 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.”

In his resignation letter he wrote: “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.”