Name of Ferguson, Missouri Police Officer Who Shot Michael Brown Released

The name of the officer who shot and killed an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri has been released.

Police Chief Thomas Jackson says the officer is Darren Wilson.  The name of the officer had been withheld because of threats posted on social media outlets that were directed toward the then-unnamed officer.

He has been a police officer for six years and authorities in Ferguson say he has no history of prior incidents.

The shooting has sparked several nights of chaos in the city as those upset over both the shooting and the police department's handling of the situation protested.  Four nights of rioting and looting came to a halt only when state law enforcement officials were brought in to replace local police patrolling neighborhoods on Thursday.

Officer Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an 18-year teenager on Saturday, August 9, 2014 while investigating a robbery in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb in St. Louis County.

During a news conference on August 10 Saint Louis County Police Chief Joe Belmar said that Brown had assaulted the officer, not identified at the time, and had allegedly reached for the officer's gun.

Violence erupted in the city later that night, and what would have been the first day of school was cancelled over safety concerns.

Witnesses say Brown was unarmed when he was shot and it is still not known if he had been identified as a suspect in the robbery to which police were called.  Some witnesses have said that Brown had his hands up when he was shot.

For days officials have been trying to calm residents and protesters.  Civil activist Rev. Al Sharpton flew to the area earlier in this week to meet with community leaders and Brown's parents. President Barack Obama has addressed both the shooting and the ensuing violence.

Surveillance video of the robbery has been released.  On Wednesday federal authorities, including the United States Justice Department, promised an independent and thorough investigation of the case as well.