The white police officer whose fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager sparked violent protests in Ferguson, Mo., this year quietly married a fellow officer in October, according to a new report.
Darren Wilson has been on paid leave from the Ferguson Police Department since fatally shooting Michael Brown in August. He has been laying low while he awaits a grand jury’s decision on whether to indict him.
Public records obtained by the New York Times show Wilson married Barbara Spradling on Oct. 24. The marriage license was issued in Clayton, Mo., outside St. Louis. This is a second marriage for both Wilson and Spradling, who own a home together.
See Tension Mount in Ferguson as Protests Begin Anew
Dasha Jones, 19, is arrested for unlawful assembly during a protest ahead of the grand jury decision in the case against Darren Wilson, who shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, outside the Ferguson Police Department in Ferguson, Mo. on the evening of Nov. 20, 2014.Barrett EmkePolice detain a demonstrator after he and others blocked a street near a police station in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 23, 2014Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesA member of the National Guard stands along a parked military vehicle in the back of a shopping center in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 24, 2014. Adrees Latif—ReutersGina Gowdy, of Ferguson, Mo., shouts while marching with protestors along a stretch of road where violent protests occurred following the August shooting of unarmed black teenager by a white police officer, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo.David Goldman—APPolice watch as a protester with an upside-down American flag marches along West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo., Nov. 22, 2014Whitney Curtis—The New York Times/ReduxPolice in riot gear observe protesters on the street near the Ferguson Police Station in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 23, 2014Shen Ting—Xinhua Press/CorbisDemonstrators block a busy intersection while marching through the streets to protest the shooting of Michael Brown, in St. Louis on Nov. 23, 2014David Goldman—APA protester, demanding the criminal indictment of Darren Wilson, shouts slogans while stopping traffic in St. Louis, on Nov. 23, 2014Adrees Latif—ReutersDemonstrators shout slogans during a march in St. Louis, on Nov. 23, 2014Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesA man wearing a mask joins others around a makeshift memorial where 18-year-old Michael Brown who was shot dead by a police officer, in Ferguson, Mo., Nov. 22, 2014Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesMatt Pearce, a reporter with the Los Angeles Times, holds his head after getting clocked with a rock thrown into the crowd during a protest in the streets in St. Louis on Nov. 23, 2014.David Goldman—APProtesters march through neighborhoods in St. Louis on Nov. 23, 2014Alexey Furman—Demotix/CorbisDemonstrators pray around a memorial at the spot where Michael Brown was shot to death on in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 22, 2014Scott Olson—Getty ImagesPolice guard the Ferguson police station as demonstrators protest the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 20, 2014Scott Olson—Getty ImagesA demonstrator protesting the shooting death of Michael Brown blows cigar smoke in Ferguson, Mo. on Nov. 22, 2014Justin Sullivan—Getty Images