Darren Wilson Resigns from Police Department without Severance Package as Demonstrations of Protest Continue

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: Dec 01, 2014

Darren Wilson Resigns from Police Department without Severance Package as Demonstrations of Protest Continue

Officer Darren Wilson resigned over the weekend after the Ferguson police department was targeted with violent threats. Wilson said that he did not wish to resign but felt obligated to do so for the safety of his co-workers. 

“The safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me,” Wilson said. “It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal."

Wilson was employed with the police department for less than three years and was not given a severance package upon his resignation. 

Wilson’s lawyer Neil Bruntrager said that it is not known what the former officer will do next. 

"In terms of what it (the resignation) means, it means at this point he doesn't have a paycheck. He has no income so he'll have to make some decisions pretty quickly,” Bruntrager said. 

Wilson recently married another member of the police department and his wife is expecting a child. 

At the same time, protests against the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown continue across the country. Before Sunday’s St. Louis Rams game, five football players entered the field with their hands raised in a “hands up, don’t shoot” demonstration. 

After the game Rams tight end Jared Cook said, "I just think there has to be a change...No matter what happened on that day, no matter how the whole situation went down, there has to be a change."

The St. Louis police Officer’s Association said that the players’ demonstration was offensive to police officers and have called for the NFL and the team to make a public apology. 

Publication date: December 1, 2014



Darren Wilson Resigns from Police Department without Severance Package as Demonstrations of Protest Continue