The police officer at the center of controversy in Ferguson, Missouri has resigned from the Ferguson Police Department.

Darren Wilson's resignation was announced Saturday by one of his attorneys, Neil Bruntrager. Bruntrager said the resignation is effective immediately.

According to ABC News, his resignation statement read in part: "I, Darren Wilson, hereby resign my commission as a police officer with the City of Ferguson effective immediately. 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 was recently acquitted of any charges in the deadly shooting of Michael Brown. He has been on administrative leave since the shooting, which occurred on August 9.

A grand jury spent more than three months reviewing evidence in the case before declining in November to issue any charges against the 28-year-old Wilson. He told jurors that he feared for his life when Brown hit him and grabbed for his gun.

The U.S. Justice Department is still conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting and a separate probe of Ferguson Police Department practices.

Information from the Associated Press used in this report

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