Darren Wilson resigns in wake of Michael Brown shooting

FERGUSON, Mo. (KABC) -- Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson resigned from the department on Saturday, just five days after a grand jury decided not to indict him in the shooting death of Michael Brown.

Wilson's attorney announced his resignation. ABC News obtained Wilson's resignation letter:

"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 the police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow. For obvious reasons, I wanted to wait until the grand jury made their decision before I officially made my decision to resign. 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. It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal. I would like to thank all of my supporters and fellow officers throughout this process.

Darren Wilson"

Wilson had been on administrative leave since the Aug. 9 shooting.

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Earlier this week, Wilson sat down for an exclusive interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, saying he feared for his life and would not have done anything differently in the encounter with Brown. Wilson also hinted that he was already thinking about resigning.

"Do you think they would accept me? You think it would be safe for me? Not only for me, for the other officers. Is the attention brought to me going to hurt one of them? Can I put them in that situation?" he said.

The U.S. Justice Department continue to conduct a civil rights investigation and a separate probe of police department practices.

So far, the Brown family has not commented on Wilson's resignation.

Protesters gathered at police headquarters in Ferguson following the news of Wilson's resignation. Two arrests were made, an official with the St. Louis County Police Department said.

ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.