Before the St. Louis County grand jury announced its verdict Monday night that Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer who fatally shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown would not be facing charges, the 28-year-old cop had penned a hand-written letter thanking his supporters.
A 12-person grand jury, with nine white and three black members, declined to indict Wilson for firing six shots, finding that no probable cause existed, said Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the family. The decision set off a night of violent protests and racial unrest throughout the nation.
"They determined that no probable cause exists to file any charge against Officer Wilson," St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch told reporters in Clayton, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis where the grand jury met.
Meanwhile Wilson, who reportedly requested that the letter be released to the public only after the decision was publicly known, thanked his supporters through a statement, Breitbart reported.
While most Wilson supporters are celebrating the verdict, one supporter told NewsChannel5 that some of them are worried about the violent protests unfolding in Ferguson since a majority of them also have connections to law enforcement.
The supporter, who asked not to be identified, said she has been in touch with Wilson since the past few months, but only got to read the letter Monday night. After weeks of uncertainty over Wilson's fate, the focus of thousands of his supporters has now turned to the law enforcement workers responding to the violence that erupted Monday night, she added.
The letter was also read live on KSDK, the St. Louis local NBC affiliate, by a female supporter of Wilson's who asked to remain anonymous to protect her identity.
Here is a transcript of Officer Wilson's letter to his supporters:
"To all of the pro Officer Wilson Supporters -
"I would like to thank you all for standing up for me during this stressful time. Your support and dedication is amazing and it is still hard to believe that all of these people that I have never met are doing so much for me. I watched the CNN video we recorded at the rally on Saturday and it brought tears to my eyes.
"All of you are simply amazing, and I don't know how to thank you all enough. I wish I could meet you, hug you, and personally thank you for all of your continued support, however, due to my and my families safety I am unable to. Please don't give this letter to any media or post it where they can see it. Relay the message of thanks to all and keep this letter private until the investigation is complete.
"I want you all to know that I do get updates on the amount of support. Unfortunately, I don't get to see all of the comments made through social media, but overall messages are relayed to me.
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and know that I would do the same for any of you.
"Also please keep my family in blue in your hearts and prayers, they have all made a sacrifice to their own lives in order to work the excessive hours through the heat and rain to ensure that the riots and protests in Ferguson were as safe as they could be.
Thank you,
P.O. Darren Wilson"
