Darren Wilson’s lawyer says recent death threats against the former Ferguson, Missouri police officer show a need for the elaborate security under which Wilson has been living since the summer.
“What this indicates is the need for vigilance,” attorney Neil Bruntrager told msnbc in an interview. Bruntrager has been representing Wilson since not long after the Aug. 9 incident in which the officer shot and killed unarmed teen Michael Brown. “And we’re going to maintain vigilance.”
RELATED: Man threatens to kill Darren Wilson
On Tuesday, a Seattle-area man, Jaleel Tariq Abdul-Jabbar, was charged with threatening to kill a recently resigned Ferguson police officer identified by federal authorities as “D.W.” Abdul-Jabbar made repeated threats on Facebook against D.W. and members of his family, the complaint alleges.
“Are there any REAL BLACK MEN that would love to go down to Ferguson Missouri to give back those bullets that Police Officer [D.W.] fired into the body of Mike Brown,” said one post. “If we’re unable to locate Officer [D.W.] then We’ll return them to his wife and if not her then his children.”
St. Louis-area police union members have been providing security for Wilson—on an unpaid basis— and moving him from one undisclosed location to another since hours after the shooting that cost Brown his life.
Last week, a local prosecutor announced that a grand jury had decided not to indict Wilson in Brown’s death—news that prompted angry riots and arson in Ferguson and St. Louis.
PHOTOS: How the crisis in Ferguson unfolded, in photographs The alleged threats uncovered Tuesday weren’t the first against Wilson, according to his lawyers. “He takes them seriously,” Bruntrager said. “His concern is not for him, it’s for his family.” Wilson resigned last week from the Ferguson Police Department. His lawyers have said he can no longer safely work in law enforcement, and he will likely return to school before pursuing another career path. Earlier this month, Wilson quietly married his girlfriend, a Ferguson police officer. Some Wilson supporters expressed outrage after The New York Times published the name of the street on which the couple live. The street name had been made public previously. Supporters of Wilson reportedly raised nearly $500,000 for his legal defense though Facebook. Wilson could still face civil charges in Brown’s death. The Department of Justice is also conducting a civil rights investigation into the Brown shooting and the larger Ferguson Police Department.Recommended
Zachary Roth