“I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk.”
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According to The New York Times and other sources, the police officer whose shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri set off a torrent of protests around the country, has resigned. His resignation letter was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, in which he said he hoped that his resignation would “allow the community to heal.”
The New York Daily News reports that his resignation letter said, in part, “I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk.”
Reactions from Twitter:
Is shooting people easy? #DarrenWilson: Resigning is ‘hardest thing I’ve ever had to do’.” #ferguson http://t.co/DZpkg04lmH
— Pitt Griffin (@pittgriffin) November 30, 2014
#Ferguson officer #DarrenWilson officially resigned. (Hey, I’m just reporting the news, don’t hate plz) but comment & I’ll cc @GovJayNixon
— Anonymous Press (@AnonymousPress) November 30, 2014
#DarrenWilson resigned a job $500K richer, with paid leave and zero accountability after killing an unarmed kid 113 days ago. America.
— Miss Packnett (@MsPackyetti) November 30, 2014
Why exactly did the police lie for 108 days about how far #MikeBrown ran from #DarrenWilson? http://t.co/U0Twu5jFMf pic.twitter.com/NnECw8oUrt”
— Damone Williams (@DamoneWilliams_) November 26, 2014
Darren Wilson: “I’m not willing to let someone else get hurt because of me.” The irony in this statement coming from a murderer
— Queen Steen (@skelesteen) November 30, 2014
Well actually, he isnt a murderer; a jury of his peers found him innocent. And why should he resign if it was actually a good shooting? Resigning isnt going to make it better; its cowing down to political pressure and showing these idiot protestors that have no idea what a cop has to do, that he himself feels he’s in the wrong! what a milksop wimpy whiny society; we apologize for doing our jobs and then apologize some more when some idiot screeches at us because we did our job and when our gutless bosses whine at us because others… Read more »
A jury of his peers did not find him innocent because he wasn’t tried. A grand jury doesn’t declare guilt or innocence. A grand jury just lets a prosecuting attorney know if there might be enough evidence for the case to go to trial. Of course, for even that much of justice to work properly, the prosecuting attorney has to want to try the case and actually present the evidence with the intentions of doing so. Not do the defense’s job for them.