Darren Wilson was just one of 53 officers in a small-town police department until his encounter with an 18-year-old August 9 on a street in Ferguson, Missouri. 

"He was a gentle, quiet man," Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Friday, referring to Wilson. "He was a distinguished officer. He was a gentleman. ... He is, he has been, an excellent officer." 

Authorities, citing death threats, had until Friday refused to release Wilson's name after he fatally shot Michael Brown. 

A resident of the St. Louis area, Wilson, 28, has been staying at a secure location since the shooting. 

It was not known whether Wilson -- an officer for six years, including four in Ferguson -- had been placed on modified assignment. Jackson told reporters the officer had faced no disciplinary action during his time on the job. 

Wilson lives in a neighborhood of modest homes about 20 miles from Ferguson. Neighbors, who seemed angry and worried about the sudden attention on their quiet community, were reluctant to talk about Wilson. Several said the officer left his home days ago. 

Brown was African-American; Wilson is white. 

One of Wilson's friends, Jake Shepard, said he couldn't imagine the officer killing somebody. 

"I can say -- without speaking to Darren, without even having heard his statements -- that, at that moment in time, he was scared for his life," Shepard said. 

"I am 100% positive of that because I could never imagine him even in that situation -- taking someone's life, let alone taking someone's life with malicious intent. He's just the last person on Earth that you would think to do something like that. It's just shocking. 
Who shot him?
Darren Wilson was just one of 53 officers in a small-town police department until his encounter with an 18-year-old August 9 on a street in Ferguson, Missouri. 

"He was a gentle, quiet man," Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Friday, referring to Wilson. "He was a distinguished officer. He was a gentleman. ... He is, he has been, an excellent officer." 

Authorities, citing death threats, had until Friday refused to release Wilson's name after he fatally shot Michael Brown. 