Mike Brown's Friend Describes Watching Him First Choked Then Shot Several Times - Complete Interview

[bigtree]

from Trymaine Lee at MSNBC:

____ About 20 minutes before the shooting, Johnson said he saw Brown walking down the street and decided to catch up with him. The two walked and talked. That’s when Johnson says they saw the police car rolling up to them.

The officer demanded that the two “get the f—k on the sidewalk,” Johnson says. “His exact words were get the f—k on the sidewalk.”

After telling the officer that they were almost at their destination, Johnson’s house, the two continued walking. But as they did, Johnson says the officer slammed his brakes and threw his truck in reverse, nearly hitting them.

Now, in line with the officer’s driver’s side door, they could see the officer’s face. They heard him say something to the effect of, “what’d you say?” At the same time, Johnson says the officer attempted to thrust his door open but the door slammed into Brown and bounced closed. Johnson says the officer, with his left hand, grabbed Brown by the neck.

“I could see the muscles in his forearm,” Johnson said. “Mike was trying to get away from being choked.”

“They’re not wrestling so much as his arm went from his throat to now clenched on his shirt,” Johnson explained of the scene between Brown and the officer. “It’s like tug of war. He’s trying to pull him in. He’s pulling away, that’s when I heard, ‘I’m gonna shoot you.’”


read more: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/eyewitness-michael-brown-fatal-shooting-missouri


Dorian Johnson, 22, the closest witness to the shooting of Michael Brown on Saturday afternoon - “Everyone else’s mentality be on some nonsense, silliness,” Johnson said. “But Mike had his mind set on more than that, helping others. I just got a good feeling from being around him.”

[golden-girl]

1. Dorian Johnson

So I guess they were real good friends and did alot together.

[uponit7771]

3. It wasn't, that bastard of police chief just a few hours ago said the LEO wasn't aware of the robber

[bigtree]

6. made the mistake of responding to a low post poster

. . . now I'm left answering a question I already know well after they changed their oq.

[pinboy3niner]

10. It was innuendo

We got a lot of that from new posters after the murder of Trayvon Martin, too.

[Lex]

4. He's the only eyewitness

to what happened. And it corroborates what witnesses saw and videoed from further away.

[BronxBoy]

16. No he's not....

at least 2 other witnesses have emerged

[sabrina 1]

33. Yes, but unfortunately if you are young and Black in America the odds are you can end up dead

or in jail for walking on the street. Too bad the officer did not know about the alleged robbery so that changes nothing at all. He harassed them for no reason, then shot and killed one of them. Fortunately Johnson didn't die also and is able to provide the details of what happened.

[tblue37]

39. According to people now coming forward,

that cop has a history of harassing and abusing the people of Ferguson--as long as they happened to be black. He was just harassing those kids for the sheer delight of it. And when they didn't adequately respect his "authoritah," he got really ticked off, and in the adrenaline and anger rush, he started shooting and then just kept shooting.

[sabrina 1]

46. Yes, I've seen that. Also the precinct he worked at previously no longer exists according to reports

so no one has his record from that Dept., yet.

Whatever his record, what he did that day cannot be excused no matter how many excuses are made. However, after the Trayvon Martin case and so many others I have little faith that justice will be done.

They have managed to change the conversation too from the brutality of the police on the protesters by the 'military' goons who came in and started a riot a few nights ago, roughed up and arrested journalists, including Al Jazeera's crew who they tear-gassed and then turned off their cameras.

That should not be allowed to happen since the media for the first time WAS focusing on this long ignored issue, the militarization of civilian police.

Eg, who were those guys all dressed for war? Who authorized their appearance at what was a peaceful demonstration until they got there? Why would the cop who bullied the Huffington Post reporter not provide his name when asked and why was he not wearing a badge?

The media had begun to ask these questions, as OWS had asked when those military goons showed up and attacked THEM also. Now, the focus has been shifted. They ARE good at that. But we should not allow it. We should keep asking these questions.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. Unfortunately, Mr. Johnson neglected to mention that they'd just been involved

in an incident at (REDACTED MARKET) (I think I know which one, but it's not been released), which makes his further testimony really shaky. The incident at the market happened literally less than 15 minutes before the shooting, and Mr. Johnson has admitted being there to the FBI, at least.

[Lex]

7. He wasn't describing that. He was describing

what happened when he and Michael Brown were harassed for jaywalking.

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. That's certainly true, and everything he said about that may be true

But he's certainly not an ideal witness, and his description of meeting up with Mr. Brown that day suffers from omission at the very least.

[bigtree]

11. is there something I'm missing?

. . . is there some claim by the officer in the report that they were asked about the theft before the violence began?

The police chief didn't indicate that, did he? Not that it would make any difference in the outcome . . . that was denied by the PC today, wasn't it?

[alcibiades_mystery]

13. There is nothing about the meeting on Canfield in any report that's been released

The Police Chief stated unequivocally that they were not stopped because of the alleged robbery. Whether the officer became aware of the alleged robbery during the course of their interaction is another matter, though that has not been stated by anybody.

Mr. Johnson remains a problematic witness, however, since the two were just coming from this incident, whether you want to call it a robbery, a strong-arm robbery, a shoplifting, or a misunderstanding. The incident occurred not an hour before their interaction with Officer Wilson, not two hours before, not 45 minutes before, but less than 15 minutes before. And Johnson is on record being very vague about how he had met Mr. Brown that day, where they were coming from, etc. They were coming from the store where this incident had happened. That's where they were coming from. It's nice to think that that won't come into play in a court, and that it is not relevant. It may even be, conceptually.

But Mr. Johnson is not an ideal witness because his television appearances look like lies on the matter of the incident, and that's going to be a problem for prosecutors.

[BronxBoy]

17. But there are 2 more witnesses...

who pretty much corroborate his story. Seems like it's the PD that has issues. This is going to turn into an interesting game of whack-a-mole

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. The two witnesses corroborate the story from a distance

They do not corroborate the discussion or how the incident shifted to altercation.

I've posted this in another location, but I'll post it again here, because i think this will be the Ferguson PD and Officer Wilson's story:

1) He stops them for walking in the street, pulls up next to them with his window down.
2) He calls them over or stops right next to them. Get the fuck out of the street.
3) As he's talking to them, the radio call goes out: BOLO for two B/M, one wearing white t, yellow socks, red hat, just robbed the (Redacted Business) on Ferguson and W. Florrisant.
4) All parties hear the radio call.
5) As he tries to leave his vehicle, Brown pushes the door shut, attempts to flee, Wilson grabs his throat. They struggle.
6) Not knowing whether it was an armed robbery, the gun comes out, etc...

They still have to get around shooting him down in the street while he's surrendering. But that's what the prosecutors are going to have to contend with.

[BronxBoy]

20. But until we get an actual report for the police on this incident...

It's just all bullshit speculation about a police department that has really shown itself to be pretty fucking incompetent.

[alcibiades_mystery]

21. To be sure

Lots of speculation, and the Ferguson PD is a model of incompetence, and that's a generous reading.

[BronxBoy]

22. Your reading of this may be right.....

and your analysis of Mr. Brown's friends may be spot on but their credibility is just as suspect if not even more so. I mean...I'm no LEO or Lawyer but shouldnt they have interviewed a lot of these folks by now. Have they? Will they, now that they are out there?

Questions not directed at you per se, just asking why some obvious things have not been done

[cwydro]

23. Thank you for these reasonable posts.

I think this whole thing is tragic....But nothing is black and white here (pun not intended)

[kwassa]

25. What is reasonable about this type of speculation? What is the value of factless theorizing?

[Lex]

12. It's laughable to think he'd rat on himself. No juror would expect

him to start spontaneously talking about what amounts to shop-lifting so I don't think it matters one way or the other. The fact that his description of what happened lines up with what others saw and videotaped further away is very relevant though.

[alcibiades_mystery]

14. It may be a wash...who knows

Here are the two problems, from a jury member point of view:

1) The incident at the store had just happened. Like, less than 15 minutes before their encounter with Officer Wilson. Most ordinary people would consider that relevant, and its omission at the very least a dodge. It's where they were en route from. He doesn't say that in any interview. Jurors don't like that kind of thing.

2) He has his own problems with discontinuity in his public statements. It's never clear why the altercation happened, and no other witnesses, who were not privy to the actual words exchanged, can corroborate. Here's a scenario: the cop is giving them the usual bullshit harrassment over "blocking the thoroughfare," a typical racist, broken windows policing act. They're talking through the open window of his cruiser when the second call goes out over the radio with an exact description of what Mr. Brown is wearing. That's what sets off the whole physical altercation, as Wilson first tries to open the door, then grabs brown, then reaches for his gun because it went out as a robbery over the radio. What if that's Wilson's version of events? Because Mr. Johnson appears evasive on this very issue, his word starts to count less against Wilson's. That's a problem for prosecutors.

All that said, nothing explains the shooting of Mr. Brown in the street, and Johnson is certainly corroborated on that point. Will that be enough?

[kwassa]

24. Why add a speculative scenario to this? There is enough bullshit here already.

You are creating a creative speculation scenario here. This is the wrong forum for that.

And, it only makes things worse.

[alcibiades_mystery]

26. Feel free to hit alert

I'm having a discussion on a discussion board. If you feel it is inappropriate to the forum, alert it, by all means.

I don't see how discussing various scenarios makes anything worse.

[kwassa]

27. You are avoiding my point, quite simply.

I am asking what is the value of your non-factual speculation.

You don't answer. I see your speculation, by the way, as a rationalized support for the actions of Wilson, by making his actions appear more rational through the fantasy that you have just created.

And it is fantasy.

[alcibiades_mystery]

30. Well

As to the "value" question, I didn't know posts on DU were supposed to have some justifiable value! Lord!

As for your second point, I'll be real clear here that I believe Officer Wilson murdered Mr. Brown in a thoroughly unjustifable rage, and should be sent to prison for that, and I'm even on record saying that on DU multiple times, though I'm not motivated enough by your board policing to track it down.

My post is showing the difficulty Mr. Johnson will face as a witness, which is the subject of this thread.

[kwassa]

31. but you are inventing the difficulty Mr. Johnson will face by fantasizing a baseless scenario

that the jury in all probability will never face because ...

YOU MADE IT UP.

The question I have is: why are you creating speculative defenses for Darren Wilson?

[alcibiades_mystery]

32. Yes, I made up a scenario

I like argumentation. Hypotheticals are part of that. It's general discussion. It's what people do. Not sure why you would care so much.

[kwassa]

36. I'll tell you why.

There is a very strong emotional content to this incident. To many, including me, this is like a blast from our very racist past, appearing very much like racial confrontations of 50 or 60 years ago. Many have remarked on that who lived through those times.

I am white, my wife is black, and I watch her and other black people I know well going through an extremely difficult time with this situation. It is painful on a primal level for many of them who rarely discuss racial issues.

It is hard enough to find out what really happened on this incident. Adding crap on top of that by creating a speculative defense for Darren Wilson makes the world worse, not better.

[alcibiades_mystery]

37. I value your opinion

I'm going to continue discussing this horrible event, however.

Have a good evening.

[ret5hd]

28. $$$$

Well, really $

[mythology]

42. Have you said the same to people who are assuming that the cop is guilty of murder?

After all, they are just speculating too.

I think it adds a lot to the conversation to try to see other potential vantage points. Otherwise it's just people arguing over who's the most ardent in their support of Michael Brown and how awful the police are and leaping to the conclusion that this was murder.

[kwassa]

43. I am not talking about assuming anything.

We have several witnesses saying that the incident happened a certain way. We have the police chief saying, in a bumbling and incohesive way, that something else happened, but what that was is very unclear. Also, his general behavior does not lead me to think that he is trustworthy, but that will be borne out over time. He is certainly not an honest broker.

Clearly, most of the evidence has not yet been placed in public view.

It is worthwhile to consider each part of actual evidence that is being revealed. It is not worthwhile, and quite destructive, to develop entire theories of the case based on no evidence at all. This only promotes rumor-mongering and conspiracy theories.

[handmade34]

29. right from the first interview

I saw with Dorian Johnson, he talked about Michael Brown holding the cigars...

[tblue37]

40. Wilson will say that Brown reached for his waistband. That is what they always say.

Of course, if the other 2 witnesses also say Brown's hands were in the air, that might prevent Wilson from getting away with the multiple shots at an unarmed person trying to surrender.

[LisaL]

34. Well, of course he wouldn't rat on himself.

But doesn't that put some doubt into the rest of his story?

[bigtree]

9. and I don't know that he was ever asked about the theft of the pack of cigars

. . .and I think it's at the extreme of descriptions to call that 'strong-arm' robbery for pushing the clerk away.

Doesn't sound from his description of events like he was responding to anything more than what the officer was yelling at them.

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. In no jurisdiction in the US would what was in the video result in a 2nd degree robbery conviction

It's shoplifting, maybe with a misdemeanor assault. It's 12 months probation.

You're quite right about that.

[tblue37]

41. If the shooter had knowledge of the robbery while interacting with Brown, wouldn't he

have said so to his police chief, by way of justifying his actions; and wouldn't the chief have said so right off to the reporters, instead of saying that Wilson had no knowledge of the incident at the time of his interaction with Brown.

[alcibiades_mystery]

48. You can go back and review it

I heard Jackson note several times that Wilson did not stop them for the robbery. There was a focus on the initial stop. And, indeed, Jackson later claimed that Wilson realized later, etc. It all sounds like bullshit, of course, but you can see the defense emerging.

[sabrina 1]

35. Unfortunately, the incident was not known to the cop so again, unfortunately for them, it has no

bearing on the killing of the teenager.

Mr. Johnson's testimony is not about the 'incident' which apparently had no relationship to the behavior of the cop, it is about the killing of yet another young Black teenager by a cop.

[bigtree]

38. right, sabrina

. . . that's the bottom line here.

What happened in that store had almost no bearing on what happened in that street. It might figure into the defense in some unreliable speculation from the officer that Mike Brown may have been trying to avoid some inevitable identification. That's within the realm of reason.

However, it would have no bearing at all in the witness descriptions of the actual events that comprised the shooting. That is undeniably a case of shooting an unarmed surrendering man, imo. Not much of a defense for the shooter in anything related to the store theft of a pack of cigars.

[sabrina 1]

47. Wrong, according to his attorney, he gave statements to the FBI where he told them everything.

And to the Justice Dept. So they knew where he had been before.

Unfotunately for the cop, they have had to admit that the cop knew nothing about that incident. That means that nothing has changed. A cop harasses two Black teenagers and ends up shooting one of them. Just as it was before.

Bigots and others with a vested interest in changing the subject, from the cop, and from the military goons who rioted a few nights ago, will use this to try to change the subject, but hopefully people have more intelligence than to let it happen again, and again.

[riseabove]

44. Geez this kid is wanted for lying in another case in 2011, apparently a warrant is out for him....

I hope this isn't true... not going to play out well.


Man oh man.

[loyalsister]

45. He knew then and now lives with

the knowledge that it could easily have been him. His friends and family know that too. I find it so heart wrenching that families and friends have to remember that and act accordingly. The real people whose experiences are overlooked are the people who live that fear and take conscious steps to teach their children to avoid such incidents.
Presumption of guilt\innocence are the defining conditions of the realities of white people vs. that of people of color. So few white people seem to care.