The white officer who shot dead unarmed
black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson,
Missouri, has resigned from the police force.
Four months after the confrontation that
fuelled violent protests in the St Louis suburb
and across the US, Darren Wilson quit the
Ferguson Police Department.
Mr Wilson has been on administrative leave
since the shooting on 9 August.
His resignation was announced on Saturday
by one of his attorneys, Neil Bruntrager, who
said it takes effect immediately.
Michael Brown's death has led to protests
across the US
According to the St Louis Post-Dispatch
newspaper, Mr Wilson sent a resignation letter
to the Ferguson force which read: "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.
"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.
"It is my hope that my resignation will allow
the community to heal."
A grand jury spent more than three months
reviewing evidence in the case before deciding
not to issue any charges against the 28-year-
old last week.
He had told jurors that he feared for his life
when 18-year-old Mr Brown hit him and
grabbed for his gun.
The US Justice Department is still conducting
a civil rights investigation into the shooting
and a separate probe of police department
practices.
The shooting ignited a national debate about
race and police power.
Mr Wilson spent months in hiding after the
shooting, which he claimed was in self-
defence.
He broke his silence after the grand jury
decision, saying he could not have done
anything differently in the encounter with Mr
Brown.
Mr Wilson told ABC News he has a clean
conscience because "I know I did my job
right".
Mr Brown's shooting was the first time he
fired his gun on the job, he said.
Asked whether the encounter would have
unfolded the same way if Mr Brown had been
white, Mr Wilson said "yes".
Mr Wilson began his career in nearby
Jennings before moving to the Ferguson job a
few years ago.
He had no previous complaints against him
and a good career record, according to Police
Chief Thomas Jackson, who described Mr
Wilson as "an excellent police officer".
A few months before the shooting, Mr Wilson
had received a commendation for detaining a
suspect in a drugs case.
Meanwhile, police detained 16 people after
fresh protests hit Ferguson on Black Friday,
one of the busiest shopping days of the year,
and arrests were made across the country
during similar rallies.
Police said only one of those arrested was
from the St Louis area. Nine were from New
York, three from Chicago, two from California
and one from Iowa.
All were held on misdemeanour peace
disturbance charges, except for one who was
detained on suspicion of assaulting a police
officer and resisting arrest.

the guy might not be safe until he relocates to greenland or moscow where other racists thrive.

Who cares about is freaking resignation? he should go hang himself.