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Michael Brown's Friend: He Was 'Shot Like An Animal' by Officer

Dorian Johnson describes walking with Michael Brown the afternoon when he was shot by a Ferguson, Mo., police officer.
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The friend who was walking with unarmed Missouri teen Michael Brown when he was killed says Brown was "shot like an animal" by a police officer who approached the pair for no apparent reason while they were on their way home. "We were just walking down, minding our own business," Dorian Johnson, 22, told NBC affiliate KDSK of the Saturday afternoon confrontation in Ferguson that ended fatally for Brown, 18. The officer drove up to them and told them to "get the f**ck on the sidewalk," Johnson said. "He didn't say 'freeze,' 'hold,' or nothing like we were committing a crime."

Johnson said his confusion soon turned to fear as he watched the officer grab Brown around the neck. Even though Brown "never once attempted to grab for the officer's weapon," the cop reached for his gun with his other hand, Johnson said. "He says, 'I'll shoot.' It wasn't even a second later before the gun just went off." Brown ran, putting his hands up in surrender, but the officer kept firing, Johnson said. "It was just horrible to watch," Johnson said, breaking down. "It was definitely like being shot like an animal."

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