The friend who was with Michael Brown when the teen was shot and killed by a police officer said he understands the subsequent rage that has erupted in their Missouri community, but called for calm on Friday, saying it's what "Big Mike" would want.
"Let's just stop," Dorian Johnson appealed to those who have been involved with allowing protests and vigils to disintegrate into looting and violence in Ferguson. "Instead of all of them running down the street breaking glass … I want them to think how it would look if over 500 teens ran down the street with trash bags picking up trash and wiping windows. I challenge them to do that," Johnson said. But after watching Brown, 18, get shot "like an animal," he said he understands their need to express anger.
Johnson said Brown put his hands up and tried to communicate to the officer — who was identified as Darren Wilson on Friday — that he was "not a threat," but Wilson "continuously" fired shots. "No one gave him a chance to live," Johnson said.
Thomas Jackson, the police chief of Ferguson said Friday that backup and an ambulance were at the scene of the shooting "immediately." Johnson disagreed. "He was in the street for about three hours, or four, before they initially covered his body," Johnson said. "There's no way to erase the memories that I have."
IN-DEPTH
- Anger Flares Again in Ferguson After Revelations in Michael Brown Shooting
- 'Beyond Outraged': Michael Brown's Family Accuses Ferguson Police of Smear
- 'We Need to Have Everybody Tone It Down': Ferguson Police Rethinking Tactics
— Elisha Fieldstadt