Ferguson mayor: No severance for Wilson

Associated Press

FERGUSON, Mo.

Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson did not receive a severance package when he resigned over the weekend, the St. Louis suburb’s mayor said Sunday.

Wilson, 28, won’t receive any further pay or benefits, and he and the city have cut their ties, Mayor James Knowles told reporters a day after Wilson tendered his resignation, which was effective immediately.

Wilson, who is white, had been on administrative leave since he killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, during an Aug. 9 confrontation. A grand jury decided last Monday not to indict him, sparking days of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and other cities.

Wilson wrote in his resignation letter that his “continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance I cannot allow.”

His lawyer, Neil Bruntrager, told The Associated Press that Wilson decided to step aside after police Chief Tom Jackson told him about purported threats Saturday.

“The information we had was that there would be actions targeting the Ferguson [police] department or buildings in Ferguson related to the police department,” Bruntrager said. He said Wilson, who had worked for the department for less than three years, and the city already were discussing an exit strategy, acknowledging that Wilson’s staying on as an officer there would be impossible.

Many have criticized the authorities’ handling of the case, but Knowles said no leadership changes were in the works. Asked if he would resign, Jackson said flatly, “No.”

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Brown’s family, said Wilson’s resignation was not a surprise.

Crump said the family still is considering civil litigation such as a wrongful death lawsuit, “but don’t let that get confused with the fact that they really wanted the killer of their child to be held accountable.”

The White House said President Barack Obama will have meetings on the Ferguson situation today. A Cabinet meeting will focus on his administration’s review of federal programs that provide military-style equipment to law-enforcement agencies. Meetings with civil-rights leaders, law-enforcement officials and others will focus on ways to build trust and strengthen communities.