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Ferguson: police officer quits

November 30, 2014

Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot dead unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August, has resigned from the Ferguson police force. Brown's death sparked protests and violence across the US.

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Protest & Ausschreitungen in Ferguson 26.11.2014
Image: Reuters/E. Garcia

Wilson's resignation came days after a grand jury declined to press charges against him over the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. He had been on administrative leave since the August 9 shooting.

"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," Wilson said in a statement.

"It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal."

Brown's death reignited a nationwide debate and highlighted long-standing tensions over race relations, police tactics and the use of firearms. There were violent riots in Ferguson after Brown's death and earlier this week, following the decision not to prosecute Wilson. Demonstrations spread to other US cities and as far away as London.

The grand jury spent three months reviewing evidence in the case. Wilson had told jurors he feared for his life, accusing Brown of starting their confrontation.

In a media interview, Wilson defended his actions, telling ABC News he had a clear conscience, as he felt he could not have done anything differently.

"The reason I have a clean conscience is because I know I did my job right," Wilson, 28, said.

Ausschreitungen in Ferguson Archivbild Polizist Darren Wilson
Darren WilsonImage: Reuters/St. Louis County Prosecutor's Office

"I don't think it's haunting. It's always going to be something that happened."

Brown's family said they were devastated by the ruling not to indict Wilson, and believed his version of events to be false. Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, labeled Wilson's words "insult after injury" and "disrespectful."

Missouri governor Jay Nixon deployed thousands of National Guard troops to Ferguson earlier this week to deal with the riots, looting and arson that followed the grand jury's announcement.

US President Barack Obama said he deplored the violence but that he understood why so many people were upset.

"The frustrations that we've seen are not about a particular incident. They have deep roots in many communities of color who have a sense that our laws are not always being enforced uniformly or fairly," Obama said last week.

jr/lw (AP, AFP)